Forget-Me-Nots and Violets
by fleets
Summary: Sequel to When I Return: What would you do if the person you loved forgot every memory you shared together? An accident causes Zelda to conveniently lose her memories of Vaati. An accident shrouded by politics. An accident that was not an accident. Someone is out to stir trouble in Hyrule, and Vaati is determined to find out who. Post FS VaatixZelda
1. It's Complicated

fleets: Hello, and welcome to my newest story project, Forget-Me-Nots and Violets! This is a sequel to the VaaZel story I wrote earlier, When I Return (WIR), but I think you would still be able to enjoy it even if you haven't read that story (as long as you come to terms with the fact that the pairing already happened) :P  
I wasn't really planning to write this story in the sense that I thought that once I finished WIR, that would be it. I would retire and spend the rest of my free time doing something actually meaningful, like watching TV. It turns out that the conclusion of WIR gave me even more questions to consider, and well, here we are.

It won't be as pairing focused as it was in WIR since it's Adventure/Romance, but hey we'll see, right? It's not like I know what I'm doing.

Setting is Post-FS, and Pre-FSA, for those of you who skipped WIR. We're veering way off canon now though since it's assumed that Vaati survived the events of FS.

Disclaimer: I own nothing except OC concepts. Yeah.  
Disclaimer 2: My proofreading is not perfect.

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**Chapter 1: It's Complicated**

It was one year since that fateful day when everything changed. One year, since Princess Zelda was kidnapped by the wind mage Vaati and the hero set out to save her.

Things were never really the same after that.

Zelda sighed, staring at the paperwork that needed her attention and brushed a strand of her reddish blond hair away from her face. She didn't want to deal with them, because she knew that most of them were going to be about the same thing: the monsters roaming Hyrule. One year after she'd returned to Hyrule with Vaati, she still hadn't been able to convince her people to coexist with monsters. She'd tried. She'd desperately tried with the help of Vaati to somehow come to a compromise between Hylians and monsters so they wouldn't have to be caught up in another war between each other ever again. The monsters were fairly reasonable, and it seemed that they would listen to her orders simply because she'd proven that she was better than them. Her own people, on the other hand, were exasperatingly difficult to deal with and many were absolutely adamant that there was no other way to continue than to destroy all monsters.

With an unhappy frown, she tapped the side of her face, slumped forward on her desk and wondered what to do. It didn't help that no one supported her relationship with the sorcerer (she still felt it was too early to reveal to everyone that she'd actually agreed to a marriage… they were in shock enough that she was letting Vaati stand next to her), and it seemed that everyone she knew was bent on trying to convince her that Vaati had done something to her head.

"It's not fair, Impa," Zelda pushed away the papers, annoyed, and she glanced towards the tall, middle-aged woman with white hair who'd entered the room. Zelda's caretaker and most trusted servant looked up at her but questioningly as the princess muttered under her breath, "I trust my judgment of him. Why can't they trust me?"

Impa walked over and glanced out the window. There was a small group of gatherers below, just outside the castle gates, protesting. She thought she could make out an anti-monster sign. Another an anti-Vaati sign. At the very least there were no anti-Zelda signs, but Impa figured it would only be a matter of time before those started appearing. The caretaker quickly closed the blinds; the princess was stressed enough, and she didn't need to see unhappy people right outside her window. "You were _kidnapped_, princess, and the kingdom suffered about a month of turmoil during your absence," Impa answered firmly, but with an apologetic edge.

"I know…" Zelda grumbled with a small wince. She'd heard from Impa all of the messy details of the state of her kingdom during her kidnapping before, and it filled her with guilt whenever she thought about it. Apparently there had been much confusion and fear after she'd been kidnapped, and security had heightened to the point that the knights had cut their break hours so that they could patrol the kingdom for longer periods of time. Furthermore, there had been a scramble to organize a coalition of powerful magic users, mostly priestesses, who would be able to defend against a monster attack. Fewer people left their homes after dark, and the populace had walked the streets with fearful sidelong glances. It was no surprise, then that the people believed that the princess was mentally unsound: there was no way she wouldn't have reassured her kingdom if Vaati wasn't actually doing horrible things to her.

No way would she have forgotten to leave a memo that things were okay, and that she would be back soon.

Therefore, it _had_ to be the case that Vaati had done something to her head to make her say such things like "I trust him."

Zelda sighed. "It's complicated."

"I have no doubt," Impa nodded gravely. She absentmindedly picked up a dagger that Zelda had left on her desk. These days the princess had begun to place weapons in very obvious places, as though visibly showing her power. They'd gotten into an argument earlier about it, that the princess's recent behavior wasn't representative of Hyrule's peaceful nature, but Zelda had refused to budge saying it was necessary to keep the monsters in line. "They need to see that we're dangerous and we mean it," Zelda had said with a look that suggested she'd fought a few tremendous battles before. Impa had yielded, but she couldn't help comparing the new Zelda to the old Zelda who preferred peace talks over threats, and it made Impa uneasy. "The people are frightened still, princess, even though you claim it is a peaceful time. Not many understand why you feel it necessary to treat the violent monsters as the kingdom's subjects."

"They are not violent if you understand their rules, Impa," Zelda answered sternly. She tried not to sound impatient, but it was difficult considering this was the kind of conversation she felt she had to repeat every single day, even to the same people. They just didn't get it. "In fact, after some of the reports I've been hearing I'm inclined to believe that _we're_ the violent ones. We could end this cycle, Impa!" Zelda waved her hands exasperatedly, her pink bow bobbing on her head almost angrily with her, "If I succeed then we would not have to fear monsters again."

"A noble vision, but I'm not convinced it is possible. There is too much history between us, and one that is full of violence." Impa placed the dagger back down on the table, shaking her head. Her hand absentmindedly moved to her hip where there was still a scar from a lizalfos attack years ago. "Just last week a group of merchants were attacked by Moldorm. Can you imagine how devastating that was?"

"They were only attacked because they attacked first. I gave the monsters a direct order not to attack any Hylians unless it is out of self-defense," Zelda's eyes flared, offended.

Zelda's caretaker couldn't hide her sigh. "You would trust monsters over your own people?"

"The monsters _are_ my people now," Zelda said with an edge to her voice, "And yes, I do trust them. They're painfully simple in that regard." The princess stared at the space between her hands, glaring at nothing in particular. She hadn't always looked so annoyed about her kingdom's matters, but these days she just found it so easy to be angry and upset at everything she'd heard. The ignorance in her kingdom upset her too much, and sometimes she couldn't help but feel so alone. Not even Impa, her most trusted caretaker and companion even before she was old enough to walk, didn't seem to understand her on the matter of monsters. "Besides, I've heard some rumors that there are so-called 'monster tamers' running about who've been issuing challenges to the most powerful monsters in the land in the hopes that they can earn the respect of the monsters like I had done," Zelda clenched her fists. "Do you know how many challenges the Helmaroc King said he'd taken? Of course we have a lot of casualties, these 'tamers' don't know what they're going against! The fact that they're calling themselves tamers is their first mistake, since monsters should be respected as an equal to be able to gain their respect in kind. They're not animals to be tamed! Their second mistake is that they are picking fights without expecting pain. I almost died when I was challenged by the Helmaroc King!" She looked up at Impa who was watching her silently. Then, the princess rested her head in her hands and muttered under her breath. "Honestly I am disappointed by my own kingdom's stupidity sometimes…"

"You've been quite cynical as of late, princess," Impa observed.

Zelda knew what the Sheikah guardian really meant, even though the words themselves hadn't been spoken. What Impa had really meant to say was, "You're sounding a lot like Vaati." It was an accusation that Zelda had heard all too often in the past year, and although no one had ever said it directly to her face, she could often catch bits and pieces of rumors - some gossip in the halls, or whispers in the servants' quarters - that she was under Vaati's curse of some kind. That she wasn't herself.

In other words, people thought she was crazy.

"And you are perfect that way, Zelda."

Zelda and Impa turned their heads to the sound of a sly voice in the corner of the room. Without them knowing, Vaati had opened the window and had snuck into the room, and was now leaning against a bookcase with a smug grin on his face. His red eyes gleamed from under the shadow of the purple and gold cap that he rarely took off of his head. "Hello," he added with a slight nod towards the Sheikah who was glaring at him coldly.

"You are not supposed to be here, sorcerer," Impa finally said with a tight-lipped frown. Her hands twitched against her lithe figure like a cougar ready to strike.

"Well that's for the princess to decide, isn't it?" Vaati shrugged carelessly, but with a dangerous tone in his voice that indicated he wasn't impressed with Impa's welcome.

Zelda looked back between the two from behind her desk, and then finally stood up tiredly. She walked over to Vaati who greeted her with a bright smile that was nothing like his sneer from earlier. The princess bit her lip and she lowered her gaze. He wasn't going to be happy when he heard her request. "Actually, Vaati, I really am busy right now and I can't do with distractions," she took his hand in hers apologetically, but with a small squeeze that indicated she was serious. "I'm sorry."

The smile vanished from the sorcerer's face in a flash, and it was replaced by a bitter scowl. "You've been 'busy' almost every day since you introduced me to Hyrule," he mumbled, dejected and accusing, unable to hide the disappointment. It made it worse that Impa's frown now had a tiny, victorious upward curve towards it.

"Ruling a kingdom isn't easy, Vaati!" Zelda finally snapped, taking him by surprise. "Did you think that, if you became king, you could just fool around all day and the kingdom would just run itself? You're acting like a child!"

The room fell dead quiet for several long, uncomfortable seconds after Zelda's outburst, and the princess immediately regretted it when she saw the blank look of shock on Vaati's face like that time she'd slapped him at the Palace of Winds. Impa shifted her weight and glanced out the window with a self-satisfied look that the wind mage got what was coming to him. Guilt crept up on the princess for taking her stress out on him like that, but at the same time a horrible thought nagged that all of this was partly his fault. Vaati was extremely immature in his understanding of what being a ruler of a kingdom actually entailed, and it frustrated Zelda to no end with his naïve incomprehension. Of course he _said_ he understood it, but she didn't believe he really knew what it meant regarding expectations of self-sacrifice. Still, it wasn't completely his fault for not understanding her stress: not many other people did, and in this regard she was incredibly alone. Finally, Zelda stammered, "…I-I'm sorry. I'm just really stressed and now isn't a good time."

"Apparently," Vaati muttered under his breath, picking at his nails absentmindedly but clearly bothered by her words. His annoyance quickly vanished, however, when his face lit up mischievously and he vanished into the air. Zelda squeaked in surprise and punched him lightly on his shoulder when he reappeared behind her and grabbed her by the waist. "Then it's my job as the villain to steal you away somewhere where you wouldn't be able to think about what the people are doing, isn't it?" he purred. The wind mage sneered at Impa who was glaring daggers at him, looking positively ready to snap his neck.

"Vaati!" Zelda couldn't help but laugh, and then she saw Impa looking at them both disapprovingly and she straightened out her dress with a serious expression. "Er, I mean, did you do what I asked?" She steered the conversation back to business. Now wasn't the time for fooling around, even though she appreciated the sorcerer's (somewhat annoying) attempt to take her away from work. Well, it wasn't fair to call it annoying because a part of her didn't mind them at all, but the princess in her knew how important her responsibilities were. Unlike _someone_ here.

"The two headed dragon Gleeok won't be raiding Hyrule's crypts again, dear," Vaati hooked Zelda's hair behind her ears softly. Zelda might have blushed, once, but she was used to his overt displays of affection in front of others, in this case Impa, to get a rise from them. She glanced to her right where he rested his chin on her shoulder, and she rolled her eyes when he was all smiles at the look on Impa's face. This made him grin even more.

"Thank you," she said shortly.

Vaati didn't miss that barely-there hint of a smile on the princess's face behind her act of aloofness. "Half a day's work, really. Maybe you should let me take care of your problem with the Hylians?" His fingers moved down towards her hands and he twined her fingers in his. "I wager I can solve your problems with a ten minute storm."

Zelda, who had been about to let him hold her hands, suddenly stiffened and pulled free, "No. What works for monsters will not work for Hylians," she said sternly.

"Sure they do. You're much too soft, Zelda. Let me handle this," disappointment flashed across his face again when the princess refused to play along.

However, this was a topic that the princess absolutely refused to even joke about, given the state of current affairs. "No, Vaati. We had an agreement. I will handle the Hylians, and you can help me with the monsters."

"What I don't understand is this: why can't you just let me flatten an annoying village, hmm? It weeds out the trouble makers and sets an example for the other people who were even thinking of causing trouble."

"And this is exactly why I need you to leave the Hylians to _me_."

Vaati scoffed. "Why? My idea makes perfect sense."

"Vaati, promise me you won't do anything that would make it more difficult for the public to accept you and the monsters," Zelda pleaded.

"What? I don't care what they think of me."

"Promise me!"

The sorcerer sneered with a malice that did nothing to put the princess at ease. "If they upset you in any way you can be damn sure they're going to learn a new definition for 'inclement weather.'"

"_Please_."

Vaati had his arms crossed over his chest, his cape pulled over his stiff shoulders. He said nothing for a few seconds, before giving a curt, tart, "Fine."

Zelda sighed again, and glanced at Impa who was standing in the corner with that murderous aura around her. Although the princess didn't mind Vaati's visits too much, it was true that he seemed to bring trouble whenever he appeared, and today wasn't one of those days where she could afford trouble. She had a meeting with a priestess later today, and she had to figure out what to do about the people who were in conflict with the monsters, and she had to prepare for her meeting with a foreign ambassador for tomorrow. There were so many things she had to be doing and a distraction wasn't going to do anything to help. "Vaati, I'm really sorry but I need some time without any distractions right now."

She was afraid for a moment that he might refuse, and in a stubborn fit he would do something outrageous to get his way. Like… kidnap her for instance. After a while, however, he gave one last absentminded shrug and moved towards the door.

"Thank you," she said gratefully, giving him a small kiss on his cheek before he left. He shrugged that away too, like it wasn't a big deal. She smiled inwardly; they'd sure come a long way since that time when he'd kidnapped her so he could force her to marry him.

"I don't know what you see in him, princess."

Zelda stirred at the sound of Impa's disapproving voice. She grimaced. "It's complicated," she repeated her statement from earlier.

Impa had relaxed somewhat with the departure of the wind mage, but the way her face was pulled taut suggested she was still disconcerted by his visit and upset by his sudden, unexpected appearance. It couldn't be helped: after all, it was her duty to protect the princess of Hyrule, but how could she guard against unwanted characters when Vaati could just appear and reappear wherever he pleased? "A lot of the public's discontent will vanish with him gone. Very few understand why the evil sorcerer is one of the princess's closest confidantes now," she sniffed.

"He's not evil," Zelda replied quickly. Then, she thought about the statements he'd made earlier indicating his willingness to hurt her people. She knew where he was coming from but it didn't really give him a good case of being a white knight, especially when his track record of being a good suitor was already very terrible. From Impa's point of view, the wind mage was a violent, impatient, bratty, and selfish kidnapper who just so happened to be the evil sealed away for hundreds of years because of even more atrocities committed back before they were born. Yes, his profile was really very perfect for a princess like her. Not. "Really," Zelda emphasized, although uncertainly, since she knew how ridiculous she sounded, "He can be sweet if you let him."

"You're thinking with your heart, princess, not your head," Impa lectured, "If you understood duty, if you understood the consequences of such a relationship-"

And that was when Zelda snapped. For the past year she'd heard things like this, and it was frustrating because no one understood that everything she did, was for the sake of duty. Not once did she favor her own wants over the needs of her kingdom, and yet these days the people accused her of not thinking about her people. Her own people didn't believe it. Vaati believed it but belittled her for it, since he didn't understand what duty meant. They didn't understand. He didn't understand. Sometimes she wanted to scream. "Do not talk to me about duty when you don't know anything!" She cried.

Impa looked at her in surprise. Then, she lowered her gaze and the woman bowed her head slowly. "I apologize, princess."

The door closed with a small click as Zelda's guardian left the room. Zelda walked over to her desk and flopped back down onto the red velvet chair, her dress bunching up around her feet as she cradled her knees. She felt bad about her outburst, but at the same time she felt that Impa deserved it. They all deserved it.

Zelda shook her head, nudging those terrible thoughts aside. They were kind of right, she supposed. Before she met Vaati she'd been a fierce yet kind ruler who was peaceful and serene. They gave her nicknames that reflected her warm heart, like Lady of Wisdom or Goddess Hylia, and she listened to her people's worries with patience. Now she was almost always perpetually annoyed by the state of her kingdom, unable to understand why no one else could see her vision of peace. For the first time in her life she called her own subjects stupid, a horrible habit she must have picked up from the sorcerer unknowingly. Now she was simply a fierce ruler. They adored her but they feared her. Was this really what she wanted?

"Impa I'm sorry."

It seemed like all she was doing was apologizing lately.

XXXXXXXXXXX

About an hour later, the princess had finished running her eyes over most of the papers piled on her desk. Just as she'd suspected, most of them had been about the monster issue, and everyone's general discontent that monsters were roaming free in Hyrule. She knew it would be hard to let the people understand her decision to put monsters under her wing, but she'd never really imagined things would be so stressful. The monsters themselves, on the other hand… "Maribel."

"Yes, princess?" A poe stuck its head out from the ceiling, and then floated down slowly so that it was eye level with the princess. It was wearing a grey cowl with a wilted dry flower pinned on its head. Even though Maribel claimed she hated flowers for being too cheerful, she'd taken a liking to them once she realized they could look dead and gloomy once they withered. Maribel was one of the poes that Zelda had encountered at the Palace of Winds, and one she'd invited to lay residence at Hyrule castle. The ghost was snappy and had a tendency to complain a lot, but there was something about the brutal honesty of the monster that Zelda liked. Even though the Helmaroc King was more of her advisor when it came to monster affairs, she found Maribel easier to talk to and much less intimidating. The ghost's bright yellow eyes watched her curiously, wondering why it had been summoned.

Zelda played with a quill pen in her hands, picking it up and putting it back in the inkwell and then picking it up again absentmindedly. The feather was purple and white, with a band of maroon red. "Tell me, are the monsters satisfied?" she asked without looking at the poe. "Do they like me as a ruler?"

Maribel floated over, her lantern's metal clanking ringing with each swoop. "Ugh, Hylians and their obsession with being liked!" Maribel scoffed. Then, she covered her ghostly mouth apologetically with a wiry hand. "Oh, I'm sorry did I say that out loud?" The poe giggled lightly, and then tilted her head thoughtfully. "Hmm, well I think we're still getting used to the fact that we're actually winning for once."

"Winning?" Zelda asked.

Maribel nodded. "Yeah, like, before we were always trying to fight you since you paraded around like the land was yours even though you Light dwellers are squishy and hilariously weak. Oops, I said that out loud. Now it's like everyone is on the winning side and there's no one left to fight."

Zelda considered this fact for some time. She'd suspected as much, that now that she'd effectively prohibited the monsters from fighting Hylians, they had run out of things to fight. She'd spent so much time this past year trying to calm down her own people, the Hylians, that she hadn't really been able to spend much time thinking about how this was all affecting the monsters. "Are the monsters dissatisfied because of this? The fact that everyone is on the same side?" The princess was almost scared about the answer, and she prepared for the worst of having to think about even more problems she would have to solve.

Maribel was quick to answer with a small shrug. "Not really. I mean it's really boring now with the 'don't attack Hylians' rule, but it's not that bad. Especially since the Hylians give us an excuse to _murder_ them whenever they scream and attack us first. Hylians are so funny!" the poe laughed. "Ah, I said that out loud didn't I?"

Zelda returned a tired smile. "You're really tolerant of your situation."

"Huh? Well it's not like we have a choice to go against you or Lord Vaati's orders." Maribel sounded confused by the princess's surprise.

"Even if it's at the cost of your own happiness?"

Now Maribel was really confused, and she scratched her ghostly head. "I don't really understand your question, my Lady."

"Never mind." Zelda waved the thought away. She still had to get used to the fact that monsters, for the most part, really didn't think anything was wrong for following orders unquestioningly from those in power. According to them, it was just the way it was that someone stronger could do whatever they wished. If she told Maribel to die in a fire (which she would _never_ say since that was a terrible thing to say to anyone) the poe would probably do it without question. It sometimes drove her mad that the monsters, some who she was close with like Maribel, didn't seem to have any kind of self-worth. The only time they ever fought back was if they thought the other party was growing weak or losing influence, and she knew that if the day came when the monsters didn't think highly of her anymore then even Maribel, the poe she liked to consider a friend, wouldn't think twice about attacking her. "Maybe we can build a coliseum where the monsters can compete and fight each other if they wished. It sounds like an awful, bloody kind of entertainment but if it's something the monsters would like…"

The poe perked up, the lantern swinging in the air and casting an eerie glow around the room. "That sounds more exciting than holding hands with slimy Hylians, definitely. Oh, I said that out-"

Zelda laughed. "Haha, it's fine, Maribel. I actually really appreciate your blunt opinions about us. It's a refreshing change from what I've had to deal with from other people, whispering behind my back and such." She smiled when the poe mumbled her thanks. "Thank you, Maribel. You may go now."

Just as the poe vanished into the walls, there was a knock at the door. It was Impa again, and there was a fleeting look of vexation when she noticed the lingering glow from Maribel's lantern when she opened the door. It worried Impa that Zelda was so close to the monsters now.

"Princess, Lady Elise is downstairs. She would like an audience with you," Impa said, not mentioning the fact that she noticed Maribel had been in the room earlier.

Zelda frowned unhappily, not looking forward to her meeting with the priestess. It was days like this where she wanted nothing more than for Vaati to snatch her away to the Palace of Winds, away from all of the politics and the responsibilities. Monsters were the least of her worries. Her own people were giving her more headaches than the supposedly evil monsters.

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fleets: Well, there's that. Not much else to say, other than thank you for reading so far! :D


	2. Link

fleets: Wow thank you for everyone's encouragement after the last chapter! I'm happy to hear about your interest in WIR's sequel. I just hope I can deliver!

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**Chapter 2: Link**

Zelda's visitor was a young woman right around the same age as her dressed completely in white. She wore a white dress that was simple yet elegant, and her white hair was pulled back in two buns on the side of her head. A white veil trailed from her hair. Even her eyes were ash grey, giving her whole appearance a generalization of "white." When the young woman walked towards the throne, Zelda put on her polite smile. It was warm at first glance, but those who knew her well would recognize it as her outside face, one that was simply a mask of necessity. She knew what this visit was going to be about, and it wasn't one she was looking forward to.

"Welcome, White Maiden," Zelda bowed her head as the woman curtsied. "Elise, it's been too long," she extended a hand in an attempt to bring the conversation to a warmer topic than one she knew they were going to address.

"Your highness," Elise addressed respectfully, but pretended not to notice the outstretched hand. Her bow was the perfect image of loyalty, but at the same time there was a casual flair that was only recognizable to a close observer. In fact, the entire exchange was somewhat awkward, as though the two women were conflicted over whether or not to greet each other like friends or to keep their meeting strictly businesslike.

The truth was that Zelda knew Elise since they were children, and Elise had visited the castle often as her parents had the bloodline of the sacred sages. Elise was two years younger than Zelda, and the other girl looked to the princess as a mentor and an older sister. They were friends, once. Well, that was a weird way of phrasing it: Zelda supposed they were still friends. Still, there was a distance between them now, mostly because of their differing viewpoints. Elise was a priestess who took her duties to Her Grace and the Goddesses very seriously, and her beliefs led her to address the princess as one with the blood of Hylia herself. Of course it wasn't just Elise who believed this; many of her subjects did. Still, it was awkward for Zelda when she didn't consider herself to be an incarnation of a goddess. She much rather her people treated her like a normal person, capable of making human mistakes. "You know I'd rather you call me Zelda, Elise," Zelda smiled, and put her hand back towards her side.

Elise shook her head. "No, princess, formality has a place. I do not come to you for frivolous affairs this time."

Even though Zelda was more than willing to roll her eyes tiredly like Vaati might have done, she kept her diplomatic composure and nodded with a serene smile. It was one of those things she'd been naturally good at, and also trained to do since she was a child. With both of her parents gone, she'd learned at a young age about the virtues of patience and sacrifice, two qualities that had been demanded of her as the ruler of Hyrule. "Of course," Zelda replied, "what is it that you wished to speak to me about?"

"I would like to speak on behalf of the people that the monster situation is getting out of hand," Elise said with determination in her eyes.

_Oh how she looks as I once looked,_ Zelda thought as she gazed on the other girl's face. Elise stood proudly, her chin held high and her fists clenched lightly, resolute in her goal to bring justice against the monsters. There was no mercy towards Hyrule's nonhuman creatures. The princess absentmindedly played with the ring the sorcerer had given her. "No, Elise, we've already discussed this before."

"And I expected you would say so," Elise answered promptly, "which is why my next proposal is regarding the revival of the seven maidens."

Zelda leaned back against the throne, mild surprise on her face. "Oh? That old project?" Zelda had a vague recollection of the project that Elise spoke of. Before the princess had been kidnapped by Vaati, there had been some talk amongst several powerful families whose women had inherited some form of magical powers. The discussion had focused on gathering seven of these women, Zelda included, to form a coalition that could seal away any threat with their light magic. The threat in question at the time had been none other than Vaati himself, and the project had been first suggested when Zelda had noticed that the seal on the Four Sword weakened over time. Elise had been one of the picks as "the White Maiden," and she had spearheaded the proposal along with the princess.

"Yes," Elise clarified, "I believe it is necessary and prudent for us to have some means to seal away the most powerful monsters in the land. At any given moment, Hyrule can come under attack by a terrible beast and we would be ill prepared to fight against a threat of that nature. The seven maidens would-"

"Would be unnecessary," Zelda finished gently. "Vaati and myself would be able to handle such matters. I do not want to frighten my subjects by suggesting the monsters are creatures to fear. Appointing the seven maidens would be a clear message that I suspect the monsters would disobey me."

"Your highness, if I may speak boldly," Elise said curtly, "Many, myself included, do not believe that Vaati is someone we should depend on for help."

"Nevertheless, he is invaluable to Hyrule and its relations to the monsters," Zelda's smile almost wavered.

"Should he go on another rampage we will have no means to seal him without the help of Link."

"He will not go on a rampage under my authority," Zelda said, a hint of irritation beginning to creep into her voice. The princess was patient, but even she had a breaking point and this was a topic she'd tired of for the past year.

"How can you be so sure?"

Zelda didn't hold back her sigh this time. "Elise, I know our views differ but I want you to trust me on this." When she saw the look of surprise on the other girl's face from hearing the princess sounding annoyed, she added gently, "You do not have to trust Vaati, but I ask that you trust me."

Elise bit her lip, and her feet fidgeted under her dress. The priestess appeared conflicted on whether or not to press the issue. In the end, Elise looked up determinedly; she needed to let Zelda know her mistake, even if it cost her friendship. Although the princess was rarely wrong, this was something she knew that Zelda was mistaken. "Your highness, the greatest problem I see is that we are going against our teachings by accepting the monsters. You are aware how many of your subjects go by the teachings of the Goddess Hylia."

Zelda nodded. She prepared herself for the wreckage that would no doubt result from the carriage that Elise seemed determined to drive to its doom. "Yes, I do know that quite well."

"Then you _must_ know that the monsters are the servants of the Demon Lord Demise-"

"According to your beliefs, yes," Zelda corrected.

"According to the beliefs of the _many_ who follow Hylia's teachings," Elise insisted.

"Perhaps it's time for a change, then, Elise."

"But we're going against the very teachings of Hylia!"

"I am not as devout a follower as you, Elise, but I was always under the impression that Hylia taught tolerance and kindness." Zelda replied calmly. She respected the beliefs of her subjects, but interpreting the teachings of Hylia had always been a tricky topic of discussion. Religion held her country together in some ways, but other times it gave her more than enough to worry about. It made it even more difficult when she herself was a big part of many of the religious beliefs in her kingdom, what with the representation of herself as Hylia's descendant and all. It caused a lot of controversy and chaos if she ever contradicted the teachings.

Like now.

"But Demise…" The priestess was visibly distraught now, since the princess herself had made it clear that she did not agree with what many of Hylia's followers interpreted from the teachings.

Zelda held up a hand, "And also forgiveness. Elise, I cannot budge on this matter. I apologize, but I must ask you to leave."

A few minutes later, Zelda watched as the door closed behind the disappointed priestess. Although Elise had said nothing in response to Zelda's last words, they way her shoulders hunched slightly and the way she walked quickly away seemed to say silently that the princess was wrong.

Zelda sighed. She did that a lot these days. She never really liked politics and she'd ruled her kingdom out of a sense of duty but these days it was even more of a nightmare; given the choice, she'd drop her responsibilities all together to live the life of… well… normal people. She felt sorry for Elise, and she still saw so much of her old self in the headstrong priestess. There was a reason they'd worked together to organize the idea for the seven maidens after all…

She thought about Vaati and how he'd been so caught up with the idea of "taking Hyrule by storm," as he liked to call it. Well, a year had already passed and there was no metaphoric storm taking anywhere, unless she counted those tornadoes that showed up in random places around Hyrule whenever Vaati was bored. Apparently Vaati liked to talk big and revel in the moment of standing on a podium of self-crafted grandeur, but was more often than not too lazy to actually go through with some of the things he said. For the most part, he'd left Zelda alone to handle all of the political mess and no longer seemed too keen on taking the ruling position after he saw all of the nuisances she had to deal with daily. All he'd wanted was the title without the actual responsibility.

Ok, so, he _did_ help out with dealing with the monsters and it was true that she'd been the one preventing him from doing anything with the Hylians. Still, that was because she knew Vaati wouldn't have the patience and understanding to rule her people justly.

Zelda frowned and she stood up from her throne, more than ready to go out and have some time to herself. If only she didn't have a conscience… how easy would it be, then? If only she could be selfish and not want the best for everyone, then she could save herself a lot of the burdens she was carrying on her shoulders. Wouldn't it be so much easier to be a bad ruler?

It was then that her thoughts wandered to Link. He'd probably tell her that she was an amazing person to do everything she did for the sake of her people, but that she didn't have to do it alone. He'd always be there, in that familiar, unavoidable green tunic with a cheerful, encouraging smile on his face, sharing with her the courage to chase away her cynical thoughts. As the princess walked past the guards who saluted her on her way out, she wondered: where was Link?

In the past year she'd only seen him about three times, when before she'd almost seen him at least once a week. She looked down at the ring on her hand sadly. He'd stopped visiting her lately. Was it because he didn't want to see her with Vaati?

Zelda stopped in her tracks in the middle of the hall, the paintings of old kings and queens looking down at her judgmentally. No… it wasn't that he'd stopped visiting. It was that she'd stopped visiting him. Back before she'd met Vaati, she'd been the one to sneak out of the castle to spend some time with the blond boy to find a quiet hour where she didn't have to worry about her responsibilities as a princess. It wasn't that Link had changed. She had changed.

_I wonder what Link thinks of me now._

She frowned at the thought. She tried to convince herself that she hadn't consciously avoided Link, and that she'd just been too busy to find the time to visit especially now that she had Vaati to worry about, but a part of her knew that wasn't entirely true. After all, it had been awkward facing Link again and holding a normal conversation after what had happened at the Palace of Winds. Both of them had nearly shattered each other's trust by the things that had been said there, and although neither of them brought it up, part of it had been her fault. Link had spent weeks trying to save her, and yet she'd forgotten all about him and even worse, actually become close to her kidnapper. Of course he wouldn't understand…

Zelda shook her head. It was an unpleasant thought.

"I'm going to go see Link," Zelda said aloud to herself resolutely. Link was, or had been, one of her best friends. At a time when she was burning all of the bridges around her because of her monster dilemma, she really needed to start mending the ones that had once been important. Friends were something she really needed right now.

XXXXXXXX

Link woke with a start to someone tapping on the window, and he almost fell onto the floor from his bed in a panic, thinking Smith had caught him napping again instead of working. Stammering a string of apologies out of habit, he noticed that no one was yanking his ear and dragging him back to work after a few seconds. The house was empty, and the slightly grouchy and weathered old blacksmith was still out at town for business. Link scratched his head, and then turned when he heard the sounds of faint, somewhat shy tapping on the window again. His jaw dropped when he saw the princess standing outside his window, knocking on the windowpane sheepishly. "Zelda?"

Link unlocked the door to find Hyrule's princess waiting for him. She looked as radiant as ever, but there was a hint of weariness behind her eyes and she wore her tiara almost heavily like it weighed her down. "Hi Link," she smiled, but Link couldn't help but notice it was a cautious smile like she was afraid of saying the wrong thing, "it's been a while."

"No kidding. Come on in," he welcomed the princess inside. They made their way to the carpet next to Link's bed, and sat down on the floor just like old times. "I was wondering why I never saw you, but I figured you were really busy."

Zelda bit her lip. She could also sense that pause behind Link's words, an almost silent question on whether or not she was upset with him. They'd never really talked about how awkward it had become after what had happened at the Palace of Winds… "Yes, it's quite chaotic right now."

"Well, you're safe from the chaos here! At least, until Smith comes back to yell at me for being lazy." Link laughed nervously, "So, are you hungry? We can go to the orchard and pick apples, get in trouble like old times."

Zelda laughed, the tension slowly dissipating. She was grateful for Link steering the topic away from what was going on at the castle. He could have made any number of comments about Vaati, asked her what was happening at the castle, or talked about the multitude of problems she had to deal with, but he didn't. He never pressed and he never asked until Zelda indicated she wanted to talk about her problems, and it had been something she always loved about him. Where Impa and other people would usually ask her to elaborate on the things she was worried about, Link always listened. He was just… there. So that if she did need to talk to someone then she could count on him to listen. "Haha, yes! And if the Coopers catches us in their orchard then I'll use my authority as princess to get us out of trouble."

"Remember that time you did that and then Impa showed up and we _really_ got in trouble?"

"Uhm…"

They stood up from the floor, Link helping her up, and they walked out the door with fun-filled chuckles. It was almost like the awkwardness had never settled between them.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

About half an hour later, they were up on the lower branches of an apple tree, munching on their stolen snacks. They were swinging their legs in the air, reminiscing about the times that had passed. "I'm glad I was able to visit today. I'm sorry I didn't come down here more often," Zelda smiled, dropping an apple core onto the ground beneath her feet. As soon as it landed, some nearby ants began to investigate.

"And I'm glad you visited too!" Link exclaimed enthusiastically, "I'll always be here, waiting, so don't worry about not being able to sneak out of the castle more often. Impa would get mad at us less often anyway."

"Hahaha that's true," the princess laughed. "Oh Impa. We probably gave her a lot of gray hairs, getting into trouble all the time."

"Good thing her hair's pretty white to begin with, then."

They both giggled at the comment, laughing about all of the times they got in trouble with Zelda's careful guardian.

Zelda's eyes brightened as she turned to Link sitting next to her. "Remember that time when we went to the ranch and rode around on the horses-"

"And you were scaring everyone by trying to shoot things with your bow on horseback?" Link completed with a grin.

"I was pretty good at it!"

"I know," the boy laughed. "Oh and remember that time when we went to the lake and you accidentally dropped your tiara in the water?"

"Hahaha oh I remember that! You dove in to find it for me and then I accidentally fell in too! Impa was so upset about that, especially since I ended up meeting with an ambassador soaked like a mop."

They laughed some more at the memory, and they continued to chat about their little adventures as they picked some more apples from the branches above them. After a while, Link looked out at the neat line of apple trees with a small smile. "My favorite times were the charity masquerades, though."

"I would have hated them if it weren't for you. So many strangers I had to dance with, and I couldn't even tell who they were because of the masks on their faces," Zelda leaned back against the trunk of the tree with a small sigh. Then, she turned to Link with a grin. "But somehow you always managed to find me in the crowd."

"Haha, well, you always figured out which one I was, too."

"No offense, Link, but you don't exactly have that 'noble snootiness' that most of the guests at the party have."

Link smiled apologetically. "Haha, yeah. I'm no noble. The only reason I'm ever invited is because-"

"Because I invite you there, and I wouldn't have it any other way," Zelda replied earnestly. The charity masquerade was usually reserved for the noble families around the kingdom, but Link had always been a special guest. The purpose of the masquerade was to provide a social event for the nobles, as well as to gather money to buy food and other small commodities for the less fortunate subjects. She hated the general atmosphere of the dance with all of the nobles trying to garner her favor, but Link always managed to rescue her from the stress of it all. She thought about the masquerade this year, and it was coming up fast. The princess looked down at her feet when she thought about how different it might be this year. "If I invite you again this year, will you come?" she asked softly, hesitantly.

"Of course! Why wouldn't I?" Link asked in surprise.

"Because Vaati will be there." There was a pause from the both of them, and Zelda felt her heart sink even more when Link looked away at the mention of the sorcerer's name. Everything she had been stressing about for the past year bubbled up to the surface again, her smile and laughter from earlier vanishing completely. The princess gripped her dress tightly, the fabric bunching up together in her fists. "Link, everyone hates me now, and all I want is peace."

"Everyone doesn't hate you…" Link replied quietly.

"They think something is wrong with me! I don't know what to do," Zelda cried. She stared at the ring on her hand, and there was caution in her voice as though she were preparing for the worst. "Link, what do you think about me? Please, be honest."

Link hesitated. "I…"

"Do you think I'm crazy? Do you think I'm cursed?"

Link flinched a little at the princess's choice of words. They were the same words he'd accused her of back when he'd first found her at the Palace of Winds. He'd called her cursed when he couldn't believe she would defend the sorcerer who had kidnapped her. "I'm worried about you, Zelda. That's the truth," Link answered slowly. He found it difficult to keep looking at the princess, her face hidden by her bangs and her hands bunched into tight fists on her thighs. "The kingdom is afraid of you, and some of the names they call you…"

"Princess of Demons. I know. I've heard them myself when people think I'm out of earshot," Zelda murmured.

Link looked at the apple in his hands. Somehow, he didn't feel like eating it anymore and he let it fall down to the ground with a thud. He wasn't sure how he should bring up his next thoughts, but the princess wanted to know. She wasn't going to like what he had to say, but she wanted him to be honest. "Sometimes I think that this was Vaati's aim all along."

The princess finally looked up. "What do you mean?"

"When he kidnapped you so you could, you know," he grimaced, the words tasting foul in his mouth, "be his bride, his plan all along was to remove your power by making people lose trust in you. That's what I think," he finished guiltily.

Zelda stared at him with a pained look on her face. "How can you say that? That's not true."

"But how can we ever know? No one knows what he did to you at the Palace of Winds, and if he really did do anything to you then how would you know?"

After a while, Zelda looked down at her hands again. Her voice was barely above a whisper, but it still tried to hang on to a piece of stubborn conviction. "It's not true."

"I want to believe you. I really want to believe you, Zelda," Link almost reached out to touch her hand reassuringly, but for some reason he couldn't find it in him to do it. Whenever he saw that ring on Zelda's left hand, it reminded him how she had someone else now, and it hurt. "But it's really hard for me to believe Vaati."

Zelda looked to the clear blue skies, searching. She was so lost. "I don't know how to prove it to you," she finally answered, "I just want you to believe me."

* * *

fleets: I got to introduce Elise! She's an OC, but she's based off of the White Maiden in FSA.  
Also I figured I should explore Link and Zelda's relationship a bit more in this story since I just glanced over it in WIR. I almost wavered into falling with the ZeLink ship while I was writing this (even though I'm not a huge fan of that ship) because Link and Zelda in this story world can be really great for each other.

a;sldjkf I always hate the beginning of stories because I just want to get to the conflict already, but I suppose this is necessary. Thanks for reading everyone! :D

**Stalfos: **Aw thank you! I'll try to keep it interesting :D

**Flufux: **Hello again! Haha hmmm, I hope I can make it clear before the story is over (sometimes my titles are random and not well explained... lol). And yeah I can't wait either! Villains are my favorite characters to write, and I have fun plans for the villain of this story :)

**Twinbell101: **Hi and thank you! I'll try to keep it up!

**TheMultiColoredPencil: **HI AGAIN. WHOOO ALL CAPS DANCE PARTY HAPPY NEW YEAR!

**guest: **Unexpected is how I roll! Er... at least try to. And yup yup, Zelda is not having fun times. I hope you enjoyed this update :)

**Reily96: **Last story Vaati wasn't being grabby enough. Decided to fix that this story XD  
I'm glad you like Maribel! If she ever met Poe though... Poe would probably hate her since she'd be a little too honest about some of the things Vaati says and does. They could be hate-besties :P  
Thanks! I'm going to cross my fingers a whole lot that I don't make a mess of it later haha.

**Peregrine: **Hello and thank you for the review! I'm really thankful to have reviewers like you, and if I ever do write an original story you guys will be the first to know (at least I'll try to let you guys know hmm). Elise is a very religious person who, despite her best intentions, does nothing but stress Zelda out with problems...

**GamerxOtaku: **Hi there! Back for more I see XD I wanted to give a better insight on what it would be like in the day to day of Zelda, and it turned out to be pretty stressful when I started thinking about it. Poor girl.

**TriceratopsX: **Aw thank you so much! I will try my best :)

**salmaawesome: **Yup! I wasn't planning on it initially, but an idea struck me and I couldn't leave it alone so here we are!

**thebeautifulvaati**: Hi there! You're in luck because I just finished this chapter the day you sent the review :D And ahhh I'm blushing I don't know if I'm a writing god yet but I'll try my best to give you guys a good story (thank youuu)


	3. Foreign Affairs

CAN YOU TELL HOW excited I am to get on with the plot by the speed of my updates? :D  
(now I'm going to go disappear into the void to catch up with all the work I procrastinated to get this done CYA)

* * *

**Chapter 3: Foreign Affairs**

Sometime after Zelda said goodbye to Link, she was walking slowly back to the castle along a dirt path. She glanced back behind her from time to time, hoping to catch a cart travelling in the same direction. She probably could have summoned the Helmaroc King to fly her back, but after her talk with Elise today and also with Link, she didn't feel like it anymore. It would just be another reason for her people to fear her.

It wasn't like she was in a big hurry, anyway. She still had plenty of time before her next meeting with the ambassador of Labrynna. _Just one more meeting and the day would be over_, the princess thought to herself as she trudged along the dirt path.

"What a lovely catch!"

Without warning, an arm wrapped around her waist and Zelda was swept off her feet. She was thrown into the air by a powerful gust, and she gave a flat look at the snickering youth. "Vaati, what are you doing here?" she asked, noting the fact that they were now floating several feet above the ground.

The sorcerer grinned, still holding the princess in his arms and giving no indication that he was going to set her down. "I was just wondering what you were doing all the way out here, vising that hero," his grin momentarily turned to a bitter scowl at the mention of Link. "I see you weren't too busy to visit him, hmm?"

"You were spying on me," Zelda sighed, "again." This wasn't the first time something like this had happened with Vaati keeping tabs on what she was doing. She didn't mind too much, but it was sometimes disconcerting whenever he showed up when she least expected it. "You know I don't like it when you do that."

"I want to know why you weren't too busy to see Link but you're too busy to see me." Vaati was still grinning, but it was lopsided and kind of frightening. There was an undertone of "I don't like that either" that the princess didn't fail to catch. It didn't scare Zelda, however. She was used to all of this by now.

"Vaati, I get to see you every day. This past year I saw Link a total of four times," the princess explained patiently. She gave him a small smirk, "don't be so jealous."

That comment immediately caused the sorcerer's grin to vanish in a flash. "I'm not," he said stubbornly, while Zelda giggled at his reaction. Vaati grunted, "Didn't you have to meet an ambassador soon? I didn't hear about Link being in the schedule."

Zelda looked down at the ground several feet below them. Some terrified cows had run the other way from the small vortex whipping around them. "I do have a meeting with an ambassador so I should be on my way." She moved her hands to where Vaati still had his arms under her, and gave his fingers a small tap. If he let her go now she would drop several feet onto the ground, but the ground was where she needed to be. "If you can please let me down…" she trailed off.

"Well, it doesn't really sound like you want me to let you down," Vaati caught the lack of enthusiasm in Zelda's voice. He grinned when Zelda rolled her eyes – he was also used to that, too. She'd give a show of being annoyed, but there was a hint of a smirk just tugging along the corner of her lips even as she looked away. The sorcerer brought his face closer to the princess. "Perhaps I should rescue you like your beloved hero would have done?"

"Oh stop it Vaati it's not like that," Zelda crossed her arms irritably. "Now let me down."

"Or perhaps you'd prefer it if I kidnapped you instead?"

"I don't have time for this, Vaati," Zelda repeated sternly. Then, she looked towards the castle. When was the last time she'd actually set aside some time for herself? Maybe Vaati had a point. Maybe. "But there's not much I can do if I'm kidnapped, is there…" she trailed off.

The sorcerer chuckled, his visible eye glinting mischievously at her comment. "No, there isn't." With that, they took to the skies, the captor and his rather willing 'captive.'

XXXXXXXXXXX

Zelda recognized their destination as the Palace of Winds when Vaati set her down at the exact same spot he'd first taken her when she'd _actually_ been kidnapped a year ago. The Palace was just as beautiful as it had been when she'd first arrived here, and during the past year it had become almost a second home. It was her sanctuary from all of the stress and troubles she had to deal with on a daily basis back on the ground, but recently she hadn't been able to find the time to visit. After all, her guardian hated it whenever she left Hyrule in favor of the Palace, and Zelda had been mindful to keep her visits to a minimum to prevent her people from worrying about her too much. Now that she was back, however, she wished she'd come here more often. With nothing but the vast open skies surrounding her, she could just feel all of her worries floating away like the wispy clouds beneath her feet.

A small, impatient tug pulled her forward into the Palace interior as Vaati tried to lead her somewhere. When she tilted her head questioningly, the sorcerer answered, "You would do well to listen to your kidnapper, princess. I'm not known for my patience."

Zelda scoffed, "Charming. Is a girl supposed to fall for lines like that?"

"If you wanted to be charmed, then why didn't you say so?" Vaati gave her a wickedly sly smile. They stepped into the great hall, where they'd had their wedding ceremony. Well, it hadn't really been a real wedding ceremony and everyone had become distracted by a food fight… it was still a fun memory though. The long table was pushed to the side since hardly anyone ever used it anymore, and it was now mostly a large empty space with sunlight seeping into the room in long beams through the windows.

"You think I want to be charmed? By the sorcerer everyone hates?" the princess raised her eyebrow, but there was a bit of a playful challenge there as well. They were standing in the middle of the room now, just the two of them. They stood facing each other, and Vaati was holding both of her hands now.

"You tell me." He took a step closer, their noses almost touching.

"It would be so much easier to forget you."

"But you can't." He moved his finger over the ring on her left hand. Then, he placed her hand around his neck. "You won't." Zelda didn't take her eyes off of his face, as though waiting to see what he would do next. Her ears caught a soft tinkle, then, and it was coming from somewhere near the windows. Wind chimes rang in the air, and after a while she noticed that they weren't random sounds from the metal rods hitting each other as the wind blew, but had some kind of semblance of a song.

Zelda's façade of disinterest finally broke as she laughed lightly. "That's better than the piano." She relaxed, allowing Vaati's hand to slip around her waist, pulling her a little closer. "You've been practicing," she nodded towards the wind chimes that were playing a soothing tune.

"I'm a master of many things."

"Especially with the piano, I know."

"Ha." Vaati smiled. Their foreheads touched, and their breaths gently tickled their lips. They kept their gaze on each other, almost daring the other to give in, to break first. Then, Vaati decided it was a dare he was willing to break, and he leaned forward to-

"No." Zelda turned her cheek with a coy smile. "I don't think you've charmed this princess yet."

The sorcerer, who had momentarily been taken aback by her refusal, chuckled guilefully. "I think you're underestimating me a little, dear." Vaati pushed her forward, then, taking the lead in time to the wind chimes. They moved between the rays of sunlight in a slow dance, gracefully weaving in and out of the shadows.

It was an enchanting scene, to say the least, and as she followed Vaati's lead in their dance Zelda could almost feel like she could let him handle the burden of some of her worries. He could take her away from her troubles, just for a little while, to a place where she was free. All throughout her life she'd been the one leading, always standing strong so that her people wouldn't worry. Now there was someone who would let her rest. Here, while she was nestled in Vaati's arms, she could forget that no one accepted him, forget that people thought she was mentally ill. A year ago she would have never believed it if someone told her that the very sorcerer who had kidnapped her for malicious purposes would end up being someone who kept her together during times of stress.

The chimes tinkled softly. The sorcerer had placed her under a spell, but it wasn't what she would consider a curse. The people didn't understand how much she needed this wind mage to kidnap her, take her away from everything that worried her if only for an hour or two.

XXXXXXXXXX

Zelda hoped she hadn't taken too long when she returned to Hyrule. She'd parted with a reluctant Vaati who'd given her a small rant about how stupid he thought all of these ambassador meetings were, and she was now on her way to the throne room where she was supposed to meet her Labrynnian visitor.

"Zelda, we were looking all over for you! You are late!" Impa reprimanded as soon as she made it to the hall that led to the throne room. Zelda's guardian searched the princess's face questioningly when she noticed a lingering flush on the other girl's cheeks but the princess spoke nothing of it. Zelda gave a small bow of her head as she quickly followed the Sheikah warrior towards the doors.

"I'm sorry Impa." There was a deliberate omission on exactly where she'd been, and Impa didn't fail to catch it.

"You suddenly vanished without telling anyone where you were going, and you've kept your visitor waiting for nearly half an hour!"

"I will apologize to the ambassador," Zelda replied.

"If only it was the ambassador you'd kept waiting-" Impa began just as the princess pushed open the doors. Two men were standing in front of the throne, and they appeared to be in mid-discussion about whether or not they should leave. As soon as she saw them, Zelda froze, and her earlier confidence about giving a sufficient apology vanished. She recognized one of the men, and she almost wanted to walk backwards and shut the door again out of embarrassment and shame.

He was a tall man in his thirties, dressed in a blue and gold, richly embroidered tunic and a heavy navy cape draped over his shoulders. He wore his red hair long, tied back in a proper fashion, and although ginger men usually had the tendency to appear soft-spoken, there was nothing that gave such a suggestion from this man. His bold brows accentuated the green eyes that stared the princess down disapprovingly. A crown sat on his head.

Zelda almost stammered. Almost. "King Roland," she took a deep breath to calm herself from her initial shock of seeing the royal here, "I was told I would be meeting an ambassador, not that I would have a personal visit from the King of Labrynna."

Roland gave the princess a cold smile, clearly upset that she'd made him wait for half an hour. "Some plans were changed and I judged that it would be better to discuss my matters in person. I would have left, if I didn't think this was important enough."

"I am humbly sorry."

Roland waited a few seconds, as though he were waiting for the princess to explain herself. When he didn't get one, he brushed it aside with a wave of his hand and stepped out of the way to the throne. "No matter. If you will, princess."

Zelda walked to the throne slowly, but not showing any hesitation. She wondered what this was going to be about, and she had a bad feeling about what it was that Roland wanted to talk about. Hyrule and Labrynna had always been staunch allies, helping each other whenever they could. Labrynna looked up to Hyrule, and considered the kingdom as an ideal that all kingdoms should strive for, and Hyrule benefitted greatly from having close relations with a coastal kingdom. She and Roland had always respected each other and the way they ran their kingdoms, and they were friendly enough that they often called each other by name rather than referring to each other with titles. Today, however, she could sense that there was some distance between them. Zelda sat down heavily on the throne, but kept her back straight. She still represented Hyrule after all. "What is it that Labrynna wishes to discuss?"

"Hyrule has always been good to us," Roland began slowly, carefully choosing his words.

"And Labrynna to us," Zelda agreed.

Consciously or not, Labrynna's King began to pace in measured steps. Over the years, Zelda noticed it was something he did whenever he was about to corner someone with words, before going in for the attack. It certainly made him appear somewhat threatening whenever he started his pacing routine. No, Zelda didn't like where this was going at all. "For many years Hyrule has been the center of many of my people's faith. It is the land that was created by the goddesses, guided by Hylia, and protected by the one with Wisdom. You are truly a kingdom worth our respect."

"You are much too kind, Roland," Zelda smiled. Behind that smile, however, was a grimace. _I sense a "But" in there, Roland. _

Roland stopped his pacing briefly. "However, in recent days we've heard disconcerting news. The rumors tell me that you have welcomed monsters as your subjects, Zelda."

The King stared her down again, much like he had when she'd first arrived late. It was almost like being stared at by the Helmaroc King, leaving her wondering when she'd be mauled by one of his talons. Roland had always been a rather… intense… person, and she was glad she'd had some practicing in dealing with imposing characters before. Zelda sighed. She knew what Roland wanted her to say, it was what everyone wanted her to say, but she needed to say the truth. "Yes, that's correct," the princess replied.

Roland looked at her blankly as though wondering if he'd heard her correctly, and then he sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "I see. That puts us at a difficult position, then."

"The monsters are my problem, Roland, you do not need to be involved."

"Oh but it is my problem, Zelda." Roland looked up at the carvings of the three goddesses that hung behind Zelda's throne. Tired creases appeared along the edge of his eyes, and Zelda could tell that he, too, was also being forced to discuss such troublesome matters out of a sense of duty. "The followers of Hylia, Her Grace, are not so tolerant of monsters. The majority of my kingdom are followers of Her Grace, and as Hyrule is the chosen kingdom this is a rather… confusing arrangement for my people."

"Tolerance will lead to peace. My people and yours must see that in time," Zelda answered resolutely. "Our battles with the monsters have gone on long enough. For once we have a chance to have peaceful relations. Please," Zelda bowed her head, "help me Roland, you're not an unreasonable man."

"I'm afraid the matter of faith is not the only problem," Roland shook his head. "If it were only a matter of faith I would not be pressed to make demands of you. The fact of the matter is, Hyrule is now a threat to its neighboring kingdoms, Labrynna included."

This took Zelda by surprise, and the princess brought her head up in openmouthed surprise. She searched for words for a few seconds before she finally managed, "I-I don't understand what you're saying. Hyrule has always strived for peaceful relations. We do not wish ill on anyone!"

"By forging an alliance with the monsters, Hyrule has suddenly become the uncontested, most powerful military power in the entire region." The king stood determinedly behind his words. "Should you ever be forced your hand to use force on another kingdom then there is nothing they could do to defend themselves." Then, he added more gently, "All I am asking is for you to break this abominable relationship you have created with the monsters. They must be destroyed. I have to look out for my own people, and this is the reason why I've come here today."

"I would never use force on any kingdom and you _know that_ Roland!" Zelda stood up from her throne.

Roland smiled back. It was a sad smile, one that she saw from time to time in her own mirror. "Ah, but we both know that we're not the ones who are truly ruling, don't we? We care so much about our kingdom that we're at the mercy of our own subjects. We never did rule with an iron fist."

Zelda looked down, finding herself unable to meet his gaze. It was the truth; she was the princess of Hyrule but her actions were more often than not dictated by the needs of her kingdom. It was the same for Roland, and was the reason he was having this difficult conversation with her now.

"One day they may force you to go to war."

"Roland I…" Zelda gritted her teeth, "I cannot do what you ask me. The monsters are my subjects as much as the Hylians are."

"I see," the king turned away with a heavy look in his eyes, "then I hope you understand that I must cease our trade relations and other friendly negotiations. Although we will not trespass onto your land, we will be hunting down the monsters, your 'people,' in our own borders so it will be too strange to maintain these relations."

"But that will cripple us both," Zelda gasped.

"This is how serious Labrynna believes your threat is." Roland still refused to look at her.

"We're friends, Roland. Please reconsider," Zelda nearly begged. "Your request is too much to ask of me, but we aren't enemies."

On his way out of the door, Roland turned around one last time with that same, sad smile on his face. It told Zelda that he wished it didn't have to be this way. "What is friendship to figureheads like us who are at the mercy of our people, princess?"

* * *

fleets: I clearly didn't say what happened after Vaati danced with Zelda. Let your imaginations run wild wahahahaaa  
Ehrm, but yeah it's been a year since WIR so Vaati and Zelda have mellowed a bit (see? I can write happy things)  
Also Roland! As you might be starting to see, there will be a bunch of OCs in this story similar to how it was in Avilux. I'll consider this story a success if I can gut anyone in the feels with them hahaha

**121FantasyLife: **Thanks! I figured the story would lack a huge piece without Link in it, especially with how WIR ended. Ah yes, conflict. My favorite thing :D these past few chapters have all been the buildup to it and I can't wait until I can just blow it all up in everyone's faces (shot)

**thebeautifulvaati: **Aaaaah thank you so much! Your messages give me boosts of happiness :D I'll definitely keep updating, because I'm excited about writing this too!

**eureka93: **Haha you predicted it, Vaati did not like that visit nope! XD She made it up to him though (or else he would have thrown a tantrum like a baby)

**Dia Newman: **Was that quick enough? :P (and ahhhh that's really nice for a writer to hear, so thank you! though i'm sorry I made you cry)


	4. Forget-Me-Nots and Violets

fleets: Considering how the title of this chapter is the title of the story, I was super duper impatient to get to this chapter. Lucky for you guys, that means you get fast updates! Don't expect it to keep going at this pace though... because I'm not sure how I've managed it thus far D:

Also I've completely given up trying to write sexy Vaati so I've fully embraced the superdork from WIR. Yeah.

* * *

**Chapter 4: Forget-Me-Nots and Violets**

While Zelda was meeting with Roland, Vaati was waiting outside, sitting on one of the slanted rooftops of the castle towers. He was bored, and seeing Zelda take care of all the responsibilities of a ruler made him even more bored about the prospect of ruling things. With a small huff, he kicked a small chipped piece of the blue shingles off the roof.

What was it about suddenly having something you were wishing for that made it so unappealing? He'd had so many plans for after he'd managed to take over Hyrule, and have people bowing at him everywhere he went. He'd imagined complete and utter freedom to do whatever he wanted, and… well…

Vaati stared at the sky. Okay, so he hadn't really thought that far in terms of specific things he was going to do after he took over Hyrule. He kind of figured it would be fantastic, and that it would be amazing and awesome and he'd be in want of nothing else. Maybe he would have made the people build a gigantic statue of him in the middle of town so they'd have to be reminded of his presence every single day. He'd brought it up to Zelda jokingly (at the same time kind of seriously) one day and instead of refuting it outright she'd brought up all of these _boring_ details that they'd have to consider to actually manage something like that. She'd gone on and on and ON about the people they'd hire, how they'd compensate them, where to contract materials, calculate a budget, and a hundred other things that he'd stopped paying attention to.

So it had been about a year since he'd stuck around with the princess and he'd had no inclination to actually rule. He let Zelda handle it, and although he was slightly disappointed, he was fine with just being a visible presence by her side. Actually he got a kick every now and then whenever he made people uncomfortable by abusing his position as someone very close to the princess.

A year had gone by so fast. They'd hardly noticed the time passing, since both of them had been so busy after his return. Zelda had sent him running around the region on errands while she tried to keep her kingdom together. Most of his work had involved seeing what the monsters were up to, but honestly it wasn't the monsters who were the root of all of Zelda's problems. They ran themselves like they always had, and most of the higher tier boss monsters like the one horned dragon, Aquamentus, had bullied the lower tier monsters to build them worthy shrines (or dungeons, as an alternative term more familiar to the Hylians) to replace the ones that Link had damaged. The most excitement he'd had was when a bunch of idiots had decided to hunt down Gleeok and he'd shown up with the Helmaroc King to ruin their little pitchfork-swinging entertainment. After Zelda had heard about what he'd done she'd been annoyingly upset, and after a long fight he'd ended up agreeing that he'll never do something like that again without telling her what he was going to do.

But wow, he was so bored now. He squinted at the clock that was past the castle gates in the surrounding castle town below, and frowned. It was almost forty five minutes now, since Zelda had gone to meet with the ambassador, and he had the urge to just go and break some windows to interrupt them. Besides, she seemed to dread having the meeting anyway, so wouldn't he be doing her a favor?

It was then he noticed a voice calling out at him from down below, and from the way it was going hoarse the person must have been yelling at him for quite some time now.

"-eason why the princess is having so many problems is all your fault, and now Labrynna is going to forsake us too!"

Vaati arched an eyebrow and he leaned forward, peering down at the ground below him. There was a girl dressed completely in white, shaking her fists angrily while she held out the small chip of rooftop tiling that he'd kicked away earlier, and the sorcerer guessed it had somehow managed to hit her. He grinned at that thought, but then scowled at the noise she was making. He took a better look at her to make sure he would have nothing to do with her ever again, and then he realized that he'd seen the girl around the castle a few times before. It was that priestess who'd been bothering Zelda about religion and monsters and whatnot… what was her name again? Elise? What was she doing at the castle again? Didn't she meet with Zelda already earlier?

"One day we will banish you from this world and rid the evil you brought with you, you vile sorcerer!"

Vaati stared at Elise from his perch up on the roof. He watched the pitiful thing, waving her hands helplessly from below as though she could hope to make a difference against someone powerful like him. "Are you done now?" he asked, when Elise took a brief pause in her rant.

He almost laughed when the priestess nearly tripped over herself in fright at the sound of his voice, and she took a few steps back as though she were worried he'd cast some nasty spell on her. "N-no," she stammered, but stood her ground bravely, "I won't be done until you go back to the sword from whence you came."

Oh, this was just gold. He was too amused by this ignoramus for him to be angry with any of her words, and suddenly the day was less boring after all. "I didn't _come_ from the sword you stupid girl," he rolled his eyes. He tilted his head slightly, and he grinned like a snake who'd cornered a rat. With a small gust of wind, he vanished from his perch, and suddenly appeared behind Elise, causing her to actually fall on the ground this time. Chuckling nastily, he asked, "Isn't it rude to yell at the king like that?"

"Y-you're no king!" Elise finally managed after she scrambled back onto her feet. Her white dress was a clumsy mess of grass and dirt from her fall. "Zelda isn't in a normal state of mind right now. When she wakes you will be banished," the priestess declared.

Vaati took an intimidating step forward, the wind swirling around his ankles and whipping past the girl. "Mhmm, do you know what happens to people who are rude to their king?" he continued, completely disregarding her claims. He edged closer, his eyes narrowed and his grin toothy and threatening. Elise backed away nervously, and her face was contorted into a disgusted grimace as though a giant spider had cornered her. Vaati surveyed her, walking around her in a slow circle, and then without warning he spread out his arms.

He didn't even cast a spell, but it was enough to send the poor priestess running for her life. Vaati held his sides, laughing at the scene, and he completely lost it when Maribel the poe unluckily floated by, right in front of Elise, making her shriek even more. The confused poe scratched its head, wondering what had just happened, and then gave a quick salute when it noticed Vaati still trying to stop laughing a few feet away.

"I'm here to give a report, Lord Vaati," Maribel announced, her lantern giving a jangle as it swayed. The ghost waited patiently as Vaati caught his breath. When he waved his hand in between holding his sides, the poe continued, "Manhandla is wondering if it is allowed eat trespassers in the swamp. There have been several people who have approached it but only took some water samples and left it alone. The wizzrobes are still asking for assistance in hunting down a renegade who refused to follow their Guild Laws."

Still wheezing slightly from the laughing fit he'd had earlier from seeing Elise running away like a cucco with its head cut off, Vaati answered lazily "Tell them all to stop bothering me with their own problems." Finally breathing normally again, he straightened out his cape which had become a little wrinkled, and he floated back up to his perch on the roof. Just as he reached the top, he heard the main doors to the palace swing open, and Zelda walked out, escorting a red haired noble outside. The sorcerer noticed a crown on the noble's head, and he wondered briefly if that was the "ambassador" that the princess had talked about; the man looked a lot more high-status than a mere ambassador, and that crown suggested he might even be royalty. Who was that man?

Before Vaati could do anything rash, Zelda noticed Maribel still floating in the middle of the path. The royal hesitated in revulsion at the appearance of the ghost, while Zelda appeared panicked and quickly shooed an uneager Maribel away. The poe disappeared into the castle walls unhappily, and Zelda had the job of trying to explain to the visitor why there was a poe floating around Hyrule Castle while the sun was still up.

Given the situation, Vaati judged that it probably wasn't the best time for the princess to have him show up right after the poe, further disturbing the royal, and so he waited for them to leave the castle grounds. After several minutes, Zelda walked back, alone this time having waved the man goodbye. She looked slightly pale, and her steps were small and uncertain as she made her way back to the castle. With a glower, Vaati swooped down from the sky and landed in front of the princess, putting an arm around her somewhat possessively as he stared at the empty spot where the royal had left. "If he said something that upset you…" Vaati began threateningly.

Zelda, who had at first been stiff in surprise at the sorcerer's sudden appearance, relaxed and shook her head and laughed sadly. "It's okay. I'll be fine." She looked up and noticed that he was still glaring at the gates, and she gave him a light tap on the arm. "You are _not_ to threaten Roland. He's the king of Labrynna and we're on good terms." _Or was, to put it accurately,_ she thought to herself, but decided against letting Vaati know that.

"King?" Vaati blinked. _It wasn't an ambassador?_ Then, he growled, "I don't care who he is," Vaati swung her around so that they were facing each other, "You're obviously upset. If he thinks he can get away with pushing you around-"

"Shhh," Zelda put a finger up to his lips, shushing him. "I'm not going to be pushed around so easily. Don't you know that by now?" she added with a tiny smile. While Vaati quieted, he still didn't look convinced that she was fine. Behind that smile he'd seen a hint of weary exhaustion.

He decided not to push it, however. Zelda had one of those looks that clearly said 'No' to whatever misfortune he planned to inflict on Roland. Instead, he changed the topic. "So I saw that White priestess, Elise I think?"

Zelda groaned when she saw that amused grin on Vaati's face, and she began to walk back towards the castle with her arm in his. "Please don't tell me you did anything horrendous to her."

"She ran off screaming right before you showed up."

"Vaati," Zelda began sternly, but there was a faint giggle in her voice that was hard to hide. She felt mean for laughing, especially since Elise wasn't a bad person, but she could just imagine how the encounter had gone.

"I wish you could have seen it."

They laughed about it as they made their way back, and Zelda's tired expression eventually lifted by the time they were at the castle doors. Vaati pulled her aside right before they were about to enter the castle. In a slightly pushy, demanding way, he grabbed her wrist and made her look at him. "What are you doing tomorrow?"

Zelda squinted, suspicious of what the sorcerer had in mind. "Well," she bit her lip, "I have to meet with Impa for training, then I have to discuss some matters about organizing the upcoming charity masquerade, and then I have to meet Maribel for –"

Vaati cut her off. "Cancel all of your plans."

Zelda raised her brows incredulously. "What?"

"You're going to cancel your plans," Vaati declared, "because you're coming with me tomorrow."

Zelda gave a tired smile in return, and she turned her head towards the castle town. "I can't just drop my responsibilities like that."

"Oh? You can't?" Vaati leaned forward, "Then let me tell you what I see." He turned his back to her, waving his arms out towards the castle, snapping his cape behind him. "I see someone who holds great power in her kingdom, but is locked away in a prison she built for herself."

"Power doesn't necessarily equate to freedom, Vaati," Zelda looked down at her feet.

Vaati huffed. "And why not?" He watched the princess shuffling her feet on the ground for a few seconds, and just as she was about to answer he cut her off. "You're going to break," he held up his hand, quieting her, "if you keep going like this." He frowned, "You were more alive when I kept you at the Palace of Winds."

Zelda laughed weakly. The so-called evil sorcerer was being so sweet about everything in his own slanted way. He worried over her more than he said he did; she would have hugged him if she weren't so tired. "Thank you for looking out for me," she said appreciatively, "but as long as I am standing I must follow my duties."

Vaati scowled, dissatisfied by her answer and somewhat embarrassed by her sincere gratitude. "That's not all I have to say." He stomped over angrily and put his hand on her chin, making her surprised blue eyes look up at him. "I've been surprisingly patient with you this past year because you've been busy, but my patience is running thin. I never once bothered you whenever you had your _meetings, _but tomorrow I'm going to take you away for an entire day, and there's nothing you can do about it."

Zelda blinked. He was looking at her with a serious expression on his face, and it wasn't until then that she realized that maybe she'd put their relationship in a forgotten little corner. Despite the fact that she got to see him every day, she couldn't really remember the last time they'd actually done something fun together. And had she really been balancing her life so horribly that she'd actually looked better during the time she'd been kidnapped? Maybe it was true… she did feel pretty awful lately; always stressed and worrying about something. She chuckled again, shaking her head. "Anyone other than you saying that, I would make them cry you know," she said with a playful grin. "Alright, just this once. Where am I being stolen away to this time?"

Vaati snorted, and then he looked back brightly. "Hmph. Have you ever been to Holodrum?"

The princess gasped. "I've never been but you can't mean-"

The sorcerer chuckled. "I haven't been there either. It would be a perfect opportunity to gloat over how much better Hyrule is than their inferior kingdom."

"We're not going to taunt Holodrum and they're not inferior to us," Zelda crossed her arms.

"But you have to admit we're the best," Vaati shrugged.

Zelda shook her head exasperatedly. Then she turned back with a smile. "I guess I'll… go and cancel my plans for tomorrow then." And as soon as she said those words, she felt a burden lift off of her shoulders. For the first time in a long while, she was excited about the coming day.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

It was the morning of the following day. It was supposed to be a day of excitement, of fun, and of escaping the prison of responsibility. They were supposed to go to Holodrum, a kingdom neither of them had ever been to, and they would have been able to quietly enjoy each other's company in a new land far away from Hyrule.

Instead, it had been the day where the mystery began, and the shadows of conspiracy and ill plotting followed.

Because instead of finding Zelda up and awake, sitting by the edge of the windowsill of her chambers for him to take away, Vaati found her on the floor, collapsed next to a broken vase and a puddle of water around her. The sorcerer froze at the sight, not sure of what to make of it. He'd been expecting those pretty eyes to brighten up at his arrival, but instead they were gently shut and unconscious. She lay on the floor, breathing slowly as though she were sleeping, and her pink dress fanned out around her. Bits of porcelain were scattered around her strawberry hair, along with some violets that she'd kept in the now broken vase. Violets had been one of Zelda's favorite flowers, and she often spoke bashfully that it represented the kind of delicate love that she'd dreamed to have one day.

Vaati swept over to where she was with the suddenness of a powerful gust, and he cradled her head in his arms. He didn't know what to do. He didn't even know what had happened, except that the princess was collapsed onto the floor and apparently unconscious. "Zelda! Can you hear me_?_!"

Vaati visibly relaxed in relief when the princess groaned at the sound of his voice. Stalks of dainty baby blue forget-me-nots fell from her fingers, the flowers dropping onto the floor as she brought her fingers up to her forehead. "Unghhh," she murmured, and then she squeezed her eyes shut, and curled over from a headache that shot through her skull.

"Tell me what happened," Vaati resisted the temptation to shake her awake, to demand her to tell him what had happened. As much as he wanted to do those things, this was one of those times that speaking loudly and demanding things were not going to help. He couldn't believe how helpless he was; he rarely knew how to make things better, and he really only knew how to break things.

"I don't…" Zelda said groggily, and she tried to push herself up. Her arms buckled under her and Vaati had to catch her as she fell back down.

"Don't move. You're not well."

"What happened…?" Zelda asked. She tried to sit up again, and she finally opened her eyes but they still looked like they were trying to find focus. Her hands touched Vaati's, and then she flinched abruptly. Her head snapped towards the surprised Vaati and she shrunk back away from him. "I sense dark magic from you," she rasped.

Vaati's hands fell against his sides and he stared blankly at the princess who was looking at him with an expression of fright. The nature of her accusation was confusing, and a sinking feeling gripped the sorcerer's gut. She was awake and conscious, but things were far from okay. "I thought you were used to that by now?" he asked slowly.

Who was this person?

The girl's physical appearance was exactly the same as Zelda, but even so Vaati wasn't sure he could recognize her. This girl who pushed herself away, crawling back away from him like he was a snake, was not the princess he knew. Her eyes were cold and closed him off from the warmth of her soul – it was the look she reserved for people she didn't trust. Her eyes wandered around the room, asking a hundred silent questions, and then they finally locked on to his.

He wasn't sure he'd heard her clearly the first time.

At the same time, he didn't know if he could stand hearing the same words again. This couldn't be happening.

"Who are you?" Zelda whispered.

* * *

fleets: And so it begins for real!  
I'm not sure if it's more appropriate to label this story Adventure/Romance or Mystery/Romance...? I have no idea. Maribel mentions the Manhandla and a certain renegade wizzrobe, two characters I've kind of rambled about in my deviantart account, and yeah it should be fun writing them. And Elise... argh all I can do is shakehead-headdesk-facewall at poor Elise.  
I am so excited to get this story going now that it's actually started I don't know if my little heart can take it

**Dia Newman: **Hahaaaa if only it worked that way x_x People are stupid snobs sometimes, I completely agree, and it makes me sad... good plot fodder though hehe

**Reily96: **Elise is... ugh don't get me started on Elise. She's the embodiment of all the well-meaning, good people, whose existence are nonetheless like nails on a chalkboard. I'm not sure if I should laugh or cry or just shake my head and feel sorry for myself whenever I write her. Surprisingly Roland hasn't been (according to Zelda wiki) a character name that has been used in the series (unless he's like a super duper random character that even the wiki page failed to find). I based his name off of the Borderlands 2 soldier guy (gosh I love that game)

**eureka93: **I'm not really sure... most of them I come up with when I'm taking a shower, or in weird hours at night... hardly ever when i'm actually working on the story itself though haha. Yup, I do not envy Zelda right now, nope

**Twinbell101: **Thanks! I'm really excited about writing this story :)

**LovelyKiridia: **Ahh thank you! Actually the basis of this story was when I was thinking about all of the problems Vaati and Zelda would have if they actually ended up together, so it was only natural to write about it :D I'm glad the OCs are good so far, and I'll keep working on the fluff! (I admit I'm still trying to figure out fluff myself since I'm _so easily embarrassed)_

**thebeautifulvaati: **One thing after the other, and it's not going to end anytime soon! I take my role as Vaati-torturer seriously XD

**salmaawesome: **Glad you liked it! There's a reason why I included it, which hopefully I'll reveal soon ;)

**CutieCat: **Ahhh thank you for the review! I'm still trying to figure out the level of fluff, since I get embarrassed super easily, and I'm still trying to figure out what Vaati and Zelda's take would be, so I'm glad you think it's realistic so far! Still trying to find that line of "realistic" and seeing how far I can push the level of fluff. It's tricky for me :O Thank you again for the review! It's comments like yours that let me gauge how I'm doing and what kind of tone I should take for the next chapter :D

**Sweetest Chick: **Thank you! The tone of this story is going to be different from WIR, but I hope I can deliver! :)

**Flufux: **They're very unpopular, unfortunately. Princess life is hard! Well... only if you actually care about your people. Vaati's approach would probably be pretty simple, but would involve a lot of unhappy people lol

**Hawkmask: **Hi again! Haha that's alright! I'm happy that I even get reviewers as is, and I'm always pleasantly surprised when people message me :)  
People are just... stupid. That's all I can say. This story is about the stupidity of people -_-  
OMG that's true! I probably should have titled WIR that, since it was all about trusting. Trust is a big thing for me in relationships, so it probably bled through a lot in the stories (to be honest I don't really like WIR's title all that much, but it was hard to change after I started it with a one shot... If I do change it, that title would totally fit!)  
I was actually really surprised by the reception of the piano scene! It was just a small random piece I threw in, and I initially didn't think it was as great a scene as some of the other scenes I'd been excited to write about until I saw the reviews for it.

**hilzel: **Heyo! I still love your messages regardless ;) hahaha I thought you'd like poes, and Maribel since I based her off of the poe sisters in Ocarina of Time. The Zelda universe needs more sassy ghostly monsters. She's going to play a decent role in this story, so you'll see more of her.


	5. The Year that Never Was

fleets: I know I updated less than a week ago but I just had to write this. Apparently I can't handle cliffhangers in my own stories myself... ha.

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**Chapter 5: The Year that Never Was**

"Who are you?"

Three words were never more devastating than the ones uttered by Princess Zelda, shrunk back against the wall and looking at him in bewilderment and fear. She looked back at him like he didn't belong here; she didn't understand why there was suddenly a stranger with dark magic in her own chambers, or why she had been lying on the floor with a broken vase next to her.

Vaati tried to find words to say, but he didn't know what to say. _Who are you?_ The words rang in his head, and he tried to find comfort in the fact that this was probably just a temporary thing, that she'd hit her head and was suffering from a brief amnesia. That kind of thing happened to people all the time, didn't it? A good whack over the head would make anyone confused, and that vase must have fallen on her when she'd tried to arrange some flowers. Or something.

She needed a doctor to look at her, and then everything was going to be okay. "You're hurt," he said as gently as he could. She was like a bird that would fly away at any moment in fright, and he needed to handle this carefully. He needed to be understanding, he needed to be patient – none of these were his strong suit but by Farore he needed to be all of these right now or he'll make the situation worse. In fact he could almost feel his usual anger bubbling up his chest, anger at the situation and anger that things weren't going his way, but he suppressed it as much as he could. He reached out to help her up, but the princess only recoiled.

"_Who are you?_" Zelda asked sharply, her voice rising slightly.

Vaati grimaced at her tone, and as much as he wanted to shout that this was ridiculous, he refrained from it and pulled back his hand, kneeling on the floor a few feet away. "I'm Vaati-" he started, and then stopped when a flicker of recognition passed across the princess's face. He was almost hopeful that perhaps she'd remembered something about him, but the hope was quickly replaced by dread when recognition transformed into something unpleasant. Zelda's cheeks paled, and then her eyes steeled.

"The Sorcerer of Winds," she finished for him quietly. Her fingertips crackled with light magic, and she had the ferocity of a cornered animal facing down its pursuer for one last stand.

She recognized him, but why was she looking at him like that? It was just like before she'd… ever known him. It was just like when he'd first found her at the Four Sword Sanctuary, threatening to steal her away to the Palace of Winds and to take Hyrule as his. He was her enemy. There was movement, and Vaati noticed that the princess had quickly pushed herself up and ran towards her desk, grabbing some kind of blue stone. It glowed in her palm, and she whirled around, keeping her eyes on Vaati with nervous tension as though she expected him to attack her for doing something suspicious. "Impa!" She called, and the stone glowed in her hand again.

Vaati, who had still been sitting blankly on the floor, stirred at the name of the Sheikah guardian. He made a movement as to go towards her, and then stopped when she raised her hands, the magic crackling in her palms. "I'm not going to hurt you," he tried to explain, and he regretted the way it came out in an impatient tone.

At the same time, something must have gotten through to the princess, because she appeared somewhat surprised by his words and lowered her hands an inch or two. Perhaps she'd caught some hint of his sincerity. She was still on guard, her back pressed against the wall and staring down at him defiantly, but a short flash of confusion shot across her face. She squinted at the sorcerer who was still sitting across from her, looking annoyed, confused, and… maybe even in shock? By the time Impa dashed into the room and stood between the princess and the sorcerer defensively, Zelda had situated herself near the door, still aiming her light magic towards Vaati but no longer as threatened as before. She stood up, backing away slowly towards the exit, all the while keeping her eyes on Vaati who was still staring at her like she wasn't actually real.

"If you are truly sincere about your claims, sorcerer," Zelda said quietly, her words carrying a faint tremor, "then you will allow Impa to detain you in our dungeons until we determine that you are speaking the truth."

"Princess, what is going on?" Impa asked sharply.

"I am giving you a chance," Zelda continued, her voice was shaking now as though it was only through great effort that she was managing to speak, "If you are not an enemy to Hyrule, then you will go with Impa."

"I…" Vaati's voice became quiet. He gritted his teeth, and he opened his mouth to defend himself, but he couldn't find the words to say. There was nothing he _could_ say. He glanced at Impa, almost wondering if the Sheikah guardian would say something to get Zelda to understand that he wasn't a threat. However, Impa only surveyed the room with a cold, calculating eye, not saying a single word as she, too, tried to piece together the situation. Eventually she turned to him expressionlessly, waiting for him to make the first move.

"I…" the sorcerer looked down as his hands. He couldn't look at the princess anymore. He got up on his feet laboriously, and pretended not to see the way Zelda took another step behind Impa. The princess was standing in front of him, but he'd lost her all the same. "Alright." He walked towards Impa, who gave him a single nod as he walked past them.

"Hold out your hands."

Vaati stopped in his tracks when Zelda stopped him. She was looking at him with trepidation, worrying that he would change his mind. The sorcerer sighed, and wordlessly held out his hands. The princess ran her hands a few inches above them, and white runes glowed, locking the sorcerer's hands together. Hand cuffs.

"Impa," Zelda averted her gaze from Vaati. "Please call Link when you return. I must speak with him."

Impa nodded again, and then ushered Vaati to keep walking. Vaati didn't appear to see Zelda's guardian telling him to move, and he was staring at the princess again, dazed. Anger flashed across his face at the mention of Link, his scowl contorting into a grimace, which eventually turned into an ugly expression that was a turmoil of emotions. Without another word, he turned his heel sharply, and proceeded to walk down to the dungeons with Impa following closely behind him.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

When Link was summoned to the castle by Impa, he immediately knew something was wrong. The people at the castle all looked at him gravely, expectantly, and no one would explain anything to him except that he should go see the princess. When he did finally meet the princess sitting outside on the edge of a fountain, she was looking down at her hands in fearful confusion. The last time he'd seen her looking so lost was when her father passed away years and years ago, when she'd learned that in the next morning she would be the one ruling the kingdom.

She wanted him to explain things. She was looking for answers. As puzzled as Link was at first, he gradually began to piece together that the princess had no memory of anything that had happened after she'd been kidnapped at the Four Sword Sanctuary a year ago. As Link explained to the best of his abilities the events that had been going on during the past year, Zelda sat quietly, looking down at the grass and listening to everything he had to say in a daze. For her sake, Link omitted the part about the nicknames she had gained and the controversy about the alliance with the monsters, and also the part where the two of them had grown further apart because of what had happened at the final confrontation between him and Vaati.

"A whole year…" Zelda murmured after Link was done. She tilted her head up towards the sky wonderingly. "The last thing I remember is when I was at the Four Sword Sanctuary. You were there with me. I remember feeling my heart racing in my chest when we made our way to the temple, and I would have been too scared to go if you hadn't accompanied me." The princess clenched her hands, closing her eyes as she recalled her last memory. "The dark magic was so powerful, it made me nauseous the closer I walked towards the seal."

"And… you really don't remember anything after that?" Link asked.

The princess shook her head, and then leaned forward, resting her chin on her hands. She continued to stare at the grass heavily while Link sat quietly next to her, and then she buried her face in her hands tiredly. "The next thing I know, that dark presence is near me. I'm in my chambers, and he's with me as well. Vaati was in my room, and I don't…" she trailed off, her voice somewhat muffled in her palms. "Link! Have I really allowed such evil to reside within my kingdom?" She looked up abruptly, imploring Link to tell her the truth but at the same time dreading his answer.

Link hesitated under her gaze. There were many things he'd thought about the situation with Vaati over the past year, which he never thought was appropriate to bring up with the princess. He never understood why she suddenly seemed to favor the sorcerer even after all of the terrible things he'd done, like kidnap her, but over the past year he hadn't said anything about it. She'd never asked for his opinion, and his real opinion would have only upset her, so he'd never said anything. A rift had been created between them when he'd struck Vaati down at the Palace of Winds, a rift that was irreparable, and after that incident he didn't want to make the chasm between them worse.

The subject that the princess wanted to talk to him about was something he'd shelved in the back of his mind as a topic he would never talk about, so it made him uncertain now that Zelda wanted to know what he thought. "You weren't… okay," he said slowly, wincing slightly at his choice of words. Who was he to say that she'd been unstable? Then again, it was the only explanation he'd had to justify why the princess never told him that she was okay when she'd been kidnapped by Vaati. When he'd come to rescue her, she'd told him she never needed to be rescued… and that hurt. Why couldn't she have let him know? "We think Vaati must have cursed you, and tricked you into making him think he was an ally for the past year." A bitterness rose to his mouth as he thought about how happy she'd looked around the sorcerer this past year. She'd looked lively and bright, hardly like someone who was 'cursed.' Zelda's words at the Palace of Winds, "_Why couldn't you trust me?_" echoed in his head accusingly and he bit his lip in shame. The boy turned away and absentmindedly scuffed the dirt with his boots.

"I see…" Zelda hung her head. She noticed Link was also looking disturbed, playing with his hands emptily. "Link, what's wrong?"

For a moment it appeared as though Link would say something, to explain what it was that he was thinking. However, he didn't know where to start and he couldn't figure out how to put into words everything he was thinking, so he settled with a weak smile. "It's nothing."

Zelda sighed, and they lapsed into a brief pause again, their thoughts weighing them down. Eventually, the princess began to talk again, as though talking about it would shed light on the complicated events. "I just don't understand the way he looked at me, Link. Those eyes, he looked at me like," she cringed, thinking back on what had happened about an hour ago, "like my very presence hurt him. He was angry. It made me uneasy."

It made her more than uneasy. She could still see those red eyes, almost with a haunted expression that what she was saying couldn't possibly be real. She didn't understand why the infamous wind mage would look at her like that. If it hadn't been for that expression of incomprehension, of someone who'd been ruthlessly betrayed, she wouldn't have given Vaati a chance. She wouldn't have even risked keeping him in the dungeons, which she was aware he could escape if he so wished, if it hadn't been for the way he'd looked at her. How long he would remain there would be telling of how serious he was about not wanting to hurt her or Hyrule, and although the pragmatic part of her knew how risky this was, there was another part of her that couldn't believe that the emotion she'd seen on the sorcerer's face was something that could be faked.

"Zelda, he kidnapped you and tried to send Hyrule into darkness," Link reminded.

"I know. I'm just so conflicted, like I'm making a mistake," Zelda gave a small, worried laugh. Trying her best to cheer up despite the situation, she looked up with a smile and put her hand on his. "I'm just glad you're here, Link. I know that you'll always point me in the right direction whenever I'm lost."

Surprised, Link didn't know what to say. Instead, he nodded and returned a troubled smile of his own.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Two days had passed since Vaati had found Zelda lying on the floor. Two days, since he'd had to wonder if this wasn't all just some cruel joke. The chain that rattled around his wrist, keeping him bound to the cold stone wall of the dungeon reminded him every hour that the princess had really forgotten about him.

_Despite her promises,_ he thought as he remembered how she'd told him that she would never forget him.

He could easily escape the dungeons with his magic, but he continued to wait, hoping that the memory loss was temporary and that she was going to come around. He was still somewhat numb to what had happened two days ago, and it seemed that his heart couldn't pick an emotion. Anger, frustration, shock, sadness; everything was muddled together and he didn't really know how he felt anymore. All he could do was continue to wait, staring at the ceiling as he lay on the blankets they'd left for him.

The only thing that kept him together, really, was the fact that it was Zelda's wish for him to remain in the dungeon until they sorted things out. In any other situation he would have blown the place sky high and let his wrath rain down on everyone who dared to get in his way, but he didn't because Zelda didn't want him to. The fact that, despite her memory loss, she'd given him a chance to show her that he didn't to be sealed in the Four Sword was the tiniest sliver of hope that maybe she'd come around.

Ha. Who was he kidding. Everything was lost so he might as well just go on a rampage, right?

"You've waited long enough, sorcerer. I have a few things I would inform you."

Vaati shot up from where he lay, and he whirled around to see Impa standing against the wall across from his cell. She blended in with the shadows, and the sorcerer was caught off guard by how she had snuck into the dungeon without him noticing.

"The princess doesn't remember anything that happened over the past year," Impa said, once she had Vaati's full attention.

The sorcerer scowled. "It took you two days to figure that out?" He didn't need anyone telling him what he already knew.

"The matter does not appear to be temporary," Zelda's guardian clarified. She let the words sink in, and for once the arrogant sorcerer appeared to lose his confidence, his shoulders slumped and defeated. It was only a brief period of time, however, because Impa's next words made him look up in fury. "The popular opinion is that you had cursed her a year ago, tricking her into forging an alliance with yourself and the monsters. When the curse broke, she lost her memories until the time you were first released."

Anger rose in the wind mage's voice again, and his eyes narrowed at the Sheikah who stood stoically by the wall. "I didn't curse her. I have no motivation to do that," he hissed.

"The motivation was increased freedom and access to the ruling class of Hyrule."

There was a crash as Vaati threw his hand to the side, the chain hitting the wall with a loud rattle. He strode towards Impa and gripped the bars of his cell until his knuckles were white. "I don't need petty curses to gain what I want! I would have overrun Hyrule with force if I wanted to!"

"That is not all," Impa continued coolly, unperturbed by Vaati's outburst. "Yesterday marks the first day when the plague struck. They are already saying it is your doing. You did it for revenge, perhaps?" She was observing him carefully, reading his reactions. Her piercing eyes never once left the sorcerer's face.

Vaati faltered. "What…?"

"The plague has only affected Hylians with mixed blood; those without pointed ears. It is spreading quickly as we speak," Impa explained. "All those affected fall to a deep sleep that they cannot wake from."

A plague. A plague? First Zelda loses her memories, and now they're blaming him for a mysterious plague?

"I have nothing to do with this!" Vaati roared. The corner of his lips twitched, and his fingers were shaking.

Impa barely batted an eye, and she spent a few more seconds observing the furious wind mage in his cell. She seemed to be thinking of something as she leaned against the wall, her arms crossed over her chest. Only her eyes moved.

Just before Vaati exploded in anger and did something rash, Impa came to a conclusion and gave him a single nod. "You are either a very good actor, or you speak the truth. A good actor, however, does not let his emotions get the best of him. He is cold, and calculating, in times of stress. You, sorcerer, are not," she observed.

"If it weren't for Zelda's wishes I would have escaped this place long ago and burned it all to ashes," Vaati seethed. Dark shadows were pooling around his hands, and he was considering transforming into his Wrath form to destroy things out of anger. However, Impa finally stepped away from the wall and took a few steps until she was standing right in front of Vaati. She eyed him disapprovingly, but a curious glint flickered across her face.

"Stay calm, sorcerer," she began in a hushed voice, "If you would listen, I might risk parting some information to you which I have not shared with anyone else. What you choose to do with it is for you to decide."

Vaati's snarl vanished, and the dark magic around his hands slipped away into the air. He searched Impa's face, wondering what she meant. He and Impa had never really been on the same side, so to speak, and over the past year they had clashed almost daily regarding his relationship with the young princess. Impa was someone he thought would love nothing more than to sabotage him whenever possible, so the approach she was taking now, almost as though she wanted to help him, was… unsettling. He released his hold on the bars of his prison cell, and circled around to the center, giving them both some space. Still, there was a cautious, mistrusting edge to his demeanor. "Tell me," he demanded.

* * *

fleets: As much as this is a VaaZel story, it's probably going to sneak into ZeLink territory occasionally. Surprisingly, I wasn't as apathetic to ZeLink as I initially thought, because the more I write about them the more I can see how they'd be good for each other, yeah? She didn't think about Link in that way anymore after their disagreement at the Palace and she started to like Vaati, but now that she'd completely forgotten about all that... -_-  
Hmmm not much else to say. What does Impa know that no one else does?

Thank you everyone for your support :D

**Flufux: **Mystery villain! Who could it possibly be? :D  
I love this part of the writing process when I'm building up to the big reveal of the villain. Villains are my favorite to read about and write about :)

**Ki**: Hello there, and thank you so much! And wow haha that's a lot of reading! I'm glad you liked my stories :D Ahhhh thank you for liking my Vaati characterization; that gives me a lot of relief and joy to hear as a fanfic author!  
Aw dang I've kind of neglected my animation projects huh? I'm almost done with the OA fight scene, too... I should pick that up again at some point. I'll consider Rend, too, once I finish that one! No problem :) Always a pleasure to increase the Vaati fanbase :D

**Lord Siravant: **Who oh who could it possibly be? :D There's going to be a bunch of characters in this story, so there's going to be a bunch of potential suspects hehehe

**Reily96: **It is my duty as author to enforce the no-fun-allowed rule. PFFFF I NEED TO STUDY TOO going to do just that after i post this asdl;kfjal;skdfj.

**eureka93: **I had to go look that FF reference and wow their story is pretty depressing... I guess this one kind of is, too. (nods) Yes, blame Elise. She is such an easy target muahaha  
The whole kingdom might be out to get you, but we have Impa to the rescue! (?) maybe. well she still hates him...

**thebeautifulvaati: **Nope, it's not Thistle this time! Thistle doesn't turn renegade until the events of Rend, and this comes before that (assuming the stories actually follow each other...). This is a different wizzrobe, one I mentioned in a doodle sketch I did, and we'll get to see him soon ;)

**LovelyKiridia: **Ahhh thank you! Haha yeah I like to think Vaati is actually super childish, since he seemed like he just hit puberty during MC and then he was sealed away immediately after so he didn't really have an opportunity to grow out of his immaturity. It makes him dangerous, too, since he's like a reckless child who actually has the ability to do serious damage. Yesss you got the approach I was going for in this story! Everyone certainly suspects him, including Zelda herself. He's in for a rough time...

**MasterShortPantsx3: **And now everyone's blaming Vaati for the plague on top of it all. He's in a huge mess right now; I don't envy him, nope. Thank you for your kind message! :)

**Dia Newman: **Elise is just... I hate to say it but she's going to be annoying for more chapters to come -_-

**GamerxOtaku: **Haha no problem, I've been updating pretty quickly too, and I have no idea how. I'm probably going to get the backlash soon when I find out about all the work I should have been doing... urgh. Yup, Zelda forgot everything important :( Now to find out how and why :O


	6. Set Loose the Storm

fleets: I COULDN'T HANDLE THE CLIFFIE AUGH. Erm, so yeah I decided to update at this ungodly hour instead. -_-;;

* * *

**Chapter 6: Set Loose the Storm**

It was impossible to tell what the Sheikah guardian was thinking as she considered the sorcerer in his cell. After a few seconds, she pushed herself off of the wall, walking away from the shadows for the first time since she'd let her presence known to Vaati. She cautiously approached the bars of his cell, and spoke softly. "Before I tell you what I know, I have a question to ask," she began. "What did you first see when you entered Zelda's chambers two days ago?"

Vaati frowned at her question, and disappointment and irritation flashed across his face when she didn't immediately tell him about the information she'd promised him. He wondered what this had to do with anything, but decided to play along with it for now. "She was… lying on the floor. There was some water around her from the vase that had fallen on her head. I went over to make sure she was okay and-"

Impa raised a hand, interrupting him abruptly. "Stop. Go back to the part where you found her. What did you see? Tell me, with the most specific details you can recall, especially about the princess."

"I don't understand." Vaati growled, his fingers twitching. When Impa looked back stonily, he sighed and complied reluctantly. "Fine," he threw his hand absentmindedly in exasperation, the chains around his wrists clanging loudly against the stone floor, "She was lying there. Her left hands were holding onto those blue flowers, I think," he said slowly, trying to recall everything he'd seen when he'd first found Zelda on the floor. It was hard to remember clearly, especially since his thoughts had been addled by confusion and shock at the time, and it still made him uncomfortable to recall that ordeal. "Her hair and shoulders were wet from the vase that had fallen on her head, and… there were pieces of porcelain and violets in her hair." Just like a doll that had fallen off the nightstand, he thought. He stopped when he noticed Impa had once again put up a hand to stop him. "If you already know what you want to say I don't understand why I have to play detective with you," he snapped, just about running out of whatever little patience he had.

"No, I wasn't sure, which is why I needed to ask you." Impa lowered her chin, her eyes narrowing as she stared at the floor thoughtfully. It looked like she was trying to solve some kind of difficult problem. She eventually noticed Vaati looking like he was going to break something. "Now that I know, I want to clarify: are you sure that the vase actually fell on her head?"

"Isn't it obvious_?_!" Vaati seethed.

"Is it?" Impa's words stopped Vaati for an instant. It was just two simple words, but they had the weight of heavy steel that instantly chilled the room. Vaati's expression froze, and then confusion bloomed on his face, and he quickly fell quiet. Impa huffed, and then began to explain, bit by bit. "Pieces from the cracked vase were found in her hair. The vase had been sitting on top of a shelf slightly higher up from the princess's head," she put her right hand just above her head, indicating roughly the height where the shelf was in Zelda's room, "From the height of the vase to her head, there shouldn't be enough distance to cause significant damage that would lead to something like memory loss. But that's not all," she paused, and gave a slow nod to Vaati whose eyes were swimming around the room as her words began to have some meaning in what they meant, "if the vase really did fall on her head, there shouldn't be any pieces of it scattered in her hair. It might fall around her, but not on her."

Vaati finally looked up, and took a small step back towards the bars of his cell. He didn't understand what Impa was getting at. Or rather, he suspected what she was getting at, but he needed to hear her say it. There was a dangerous edge in his voice when he asked, "What are you saying…?"

Impa shrugged nonchalantly. "So far, nothing. I would have been suspicious, but it wouldn't have been enough for me to tell you anything. However, I also found this." She uncrossed her arms, and revealed a small envelope she'd been holding all this time. When she opened it, she took out a piece of burnt paper that was preserved between to sheets of thin glass. Vaati took it tentatively when she passed it between the bars. "Do you recognize this?" she asked.

Vaati peered through the glass at the paper trapped between it. Most of it had burnt away, and whatever was left was about the size of his palm. Faint lines of ink were barely legible on the paper, but enough was left for him to make out the message. "What do these flowers smell like?" Vaati read aloud, "signed… Vaati?"

_What?_

He stared at the parchment for several long seconds, reading and rereading to make sure he'd read it right. Still, no matter how many times he passed over those words, it undeniably had his name on it. He turned to Impa for some kind of explanation. "No, I never wrote anything like this." It wasn't often that he resorted to cheesy displays of affection where he'd send flowers with little notes, so he was sure he'd know if he'd sent something like this. Images of the blue flowers in Zelda's hand came to mind, and he began to understand that she must have received them from someone that morning.

"I found it in the coals," Impa said, and from the way she said it, it was apparent that her suspicions had been confirmed. "Someone had been in a hurry to burn this, but in their haste to leave, they never bothered to check if it had been destroyed properly. My guess is that an unexpected visitor had startled them, making them panic," she let the words sink in. "Whoever did this wanted to make it look like an accident. The vase never fell on her head; they broke the vase later and scattered some pieces in her hair in a crude attempt to make it look like the cause of her fainting."

The vase that had fallen. The inexplicable broken pieces of porcelain in her hair. The piece of paper addressed from him that he'd never written. The forget-me-nots. _What do these smell like?_

"They were there. They were there before me," Vaati breathed. His fingers clenched the glass with the parchment paper inside. If he'd been there just a few minutes earlier, if he'd kept a sentry to watch over her that night…

"The paper had landed in the cooler part of the coals and I found it before it disappeared."

"This means someone-" Vaati looked up abruptly, finally finding some focus after the overwhelming information he'd just heard.

Impa nodded. "You could say someone really wanted Zelda to lose her memories. Specifically of you." Impa watched the sorcerer who was absolutely livid now. "Didn't you find it curious that Zelda's memory ends at the time you kidnapped her? It could be a coincidence, but it's unlikely. For her to have her last memory as the time you did something horrible to her, it's a perfect set up for you to lose her favor. It would only fuel the rumors that were circulating about the curse you put on her."

"They set me up," Vaati snarled, and his palms smashed against the bars of his cell angrily. Fury had replaced his earlier shock, and he wanted to destroy something. Someone. They were going to pay. For someone to have the gall to do something like this, to fight him so indirectly like a coward, he harbored even more hate for them than to all of the heroes of the past who fought him straight on. Instead of stealing his princess away by defeating him in battle, they had taken her away from him by attacking _her_. "How did they do it? You must know something. Tell me!" he demanded.

"Take this." Impa handed him a tiny bottle. Inside it was a small stalk of tiny blue flowers, the same ones that he'd seen with Zelda when he'd found her lying on the floor. Vaati turned it over in his hand while the Sheikah explained, "It's one of the flowers she was holding in her hand, ironically it was a forget-me-not. Whoever did this had some ill sense of humor."

Recalling the message, one thing came to the sorcerer's mind on what the flower really entailed. "Poison?"

Impa nodded in confirmation. "I know a few things about poison, given my work as a Sheikah. This one is familiar to me – it's a type of poison that, paired with a charm, can selectively erase memories. You can cause targets to lose memories of the past few minutes, or as in this case, an entire year."

"What's the cure?"

Behind the glower of fury there was a brief glimmer of hope behind Vaati's eyes. If there was a cure, then they could resolve this quickly, and Zelda might remember him again before the day was over. His hopeful expression dissolved, however, when he saw Impa shaking her head. "I'm afraid that's where I can no longer help you, sorcerer," she said, and Vaati was again hit with heavy disappointment, "I know more than the average man about poisons, but I am no expert. Although I might be able to devise a cure, I will not risk giving the princess incorrect treatment and have her condition worsen." Impa smiled bitterly, "It's not in my line of work to undo the effects of poison I inflict on Hyrule's enemies."

"It's better than nothing!" Vaati spat, resentful of the Sheikah again.

"I cannot give her the cure, sorcerer. Neither will I go and seek one." Impa remained resolute behind her words.

"You…" Vaati hissed. He was considering threatening to take her life if she didn't at least try to devise a cure. Magic crackled where his chains bound him, and in an instant they broke with a loud snap. The chains dropped to the ground with a thud, and Vaati stared down the Sheikah menacingly.

Impa, however, didn't show fear even if she were nervous. She took a few steps towards the stairs leading out of the dungeon, but she stood her ground admirably. "I told you earlier that what you choose to do with this information is for you to decide. To be quite honest, I am not in the least worried about the fact that you may have been framed. It might even do this kingdom good if we went back to calling you an enemy."

"Then why bother telling me at all?" Vaati glared.

"Why indeed?" Impa wondered, and for the first time there was a faint hint of sympathy. "Perhaps I, too, seek the truth. Someone attacked the princess, and it is my job to track them down. Neither I nor the princess will gain anything by finding the truth, while you," she nodded her head towards the sorcerer, "You gain everything. You're desperate for the truth. You are better suited and better motivated for the task than I."

"So you're just using me," Vaati said bluntly. He eyed her for a few more seconds, wondering if his anger should still be directed at her, and then he visibly relaxed. He released his hold on the bars of his cell, and he brushed aside his hair away from his face. "Ha," he laughed, "For a minute I was disturbed by your eagerness to help."

He walked back to the walls of his cell and leaned against the stone casually. There was still a heavy tension around the sorcerer, like a snake just ready to strike at the tiniest movement, but he seemed to have reached the conclusion that Impa wasn't an enemy for the time being. For the first time since the two of them met, they had come to some sort of mutual understanding that they weren't on opposing sides.

"As much as I disagree with your presence in Hyrule," Impa moved towards the stairs, indicating that she was done with the discussion. "I hope you have some success in finding answers, sorcerer. In light of this incident and the plague, my suspicions run high and I'm worried for the princess."

Vaati sneered. "I'll find whoever did this, and they will regret it." There was no uncertainty behind his words. He knew how this was going to end. There was no other ending he would accept aside from finding the perpetrator and showing them pain worse than death.

Impa took a final, curious glance at the sorcerer in the cell. As much as she despised him, his confidence in finding the truth was refreshing. "I suggest you start with finding someone knowledgeable in poisons. They may help you find a cure," she advised, and then added enigmatically, "Leave quickly if you plan to find the truth. Your success depends on it." Before Vaati could ask what she meant by that, Impa vanished without another word.

Minutes after she'd left, the dungeon cell became empty, with no trace of the sorcerer who'd been there save for the broken chain that had once been around Vaati's wrist. The storm had been subdued by the princess, but now that Impa had given it direction, it was going to rain down its wrath on the one foolish enough to anger it.

XXXXXXXXXX

_Who am I?_

Zelda had been sitting at the edge of her bed, looking at the mirror on the other side of the room. The question had been lingering in her mind since Link had told her everything that had happened this past year. She didn't recognize anything Link said as something she would do; why had she ever thought that letting monsters freely roam the kingdom was a good idea? From what Link had said, it sounded like she'd even communicated with the great dungeon keepers, the boss monsters. When she'd tried to find some kind of reason that would justify her actions, when she'd searched Link's face for anything encouraging, she'd found nothing but uncomfortable fidgeting and sideways glances. Link, too, hadn't been able to understand her newfound relations with the monsters.

Zelda sighed. Everything was falling apart all around her, and she felt completely helpless. While she was still trying to piece together her past year, she had to figure out what to do with the wind mage in the castle dungeons and also deal with the plague that was spreading across her kingdom. The plague had already incapacitated dozens, no hundreds, of businesses and services, and hundreds of people were now trapped in a wakeless sleep. A good percentage of the kingdom's best healers had succumbed to the plague as well, and the ones left still hadn't been able to find a cure to wake those affected. The ones who had collapsed had been moved to empty classrooms in the kingdom's largest school as a temporary measure, but eventually she knew that they would be forced to trap them in stasis crystals to keep them from dying until they found a true cure.

She played with a beautiful silver ring in her hands, and the diamond glittered brightly as she turned it over absentmindedly. She'd been wearing it on her left hand, on her ring finger, and she was sure it wasn't something she'd had before a year ago. It had confused her, when she'd first found it: did it mean that she'd promised herself to someone this past year? She didn't think that she would wear such a ring on her ring finger on a whim, since whenever she did wear rings she often wore them on her right hand. However, no one would tell her that she'd ever married someone in the past year, and no one ever stepped forward, claiming himself to be her suitor. She placed the ring back in her nightstand drawer; it didn't feel right to wear something like it when she didn't know what was going on, or the story behind it.

Everyone else she'd spoken with had all said the same thing: it had been a curse. That she hadn't been herself this past year, and that Vaati had manipulated her to lead the country under his wishes.

Maybe she would have believed it if she hadn't seen the way the sorcerer had looked at her when she asked him who he was. She'd almost felt guilty when she demanded that he wait in the dungeons until this was all sorted – he'd accepted his fate so willingly, and the look of betrayal on his face… that wasn't an emotion that had been faked. He'd truly believed that she'd let him down, but she couldn't begin to fathom why.

She'd also been surprised by what the infamous Wind Mage actually looked like. All of the stories spoke of a fearsome one-eyed demon who could flatten villages with a swoop of his pitch black wings. Instead, he'd ended up being a somewhat short, almost frail-looking fellow with a youthful and sly gleam in his eye. Proud and arrogant, perhaps, but not exactly what she would call outright evil. Maybe amoral, but from her brief interaction with him she had the sense that she could at least get him to listen, and that was a start.

_Maybe I'll visit him this afternoon,_ Zelda thought as she clenched the bed sheets tightly. For the past two days, he'd waited in the dungeons patiently without incident. If he truly did have ill intentions, she would have expected him to have left by now – the old legends always painted him as an impatient demon who didn't hesitate to do the most horrid things in order to get his way. The fact that he was still there, waiting, must mean that there was another side to this mystery that she didn't know about yet? She needed to hear his side of the story… maybe then she could be enlightened as to what had really happened.

He might manipulate her, he might attack her, he might even curse her again, but somehow a part of her thought that she could risk talking to him. Not even the best actor could sound as sincere as he did when he'd told her that he wasn't going to hurt her. It was the least she could do…

"I'll…" Zelda gulped, and then shook her head vehemently, trying to will away her nerves, "I'll go see him today!" she said aloud as a promise to herself. She stared blankly at the reflection of the nervous, addled girl in the mirror. Then, she sighed and put her face in her hands. In all honesty she was in no condition to face a potentially dangerous individual. "No, I can't put this off! I have to go today," she muttered into her hands. "I wish someone would tell me everything is going to be okay…"

Suddenly, Zelda noticed a faint glow from the corner of her room. She whirled around and came face to face with a ghostly creature with its face covered by a grey cowl. Maribel floated over, her lantern swaying and casting tall shadows as she approached. "Everything is goi- EEK!"

Zelda had been quick on her feet, and just as the poe said something she'd blasted a powerful shot of magic towards the monster. Crouched on the floor now, Zelda prepared another blast at the monster that had intruded her room unannounced.

"_I apologize my Lady!"_ Maribel shrieked as she flew back into the wall, her screams fading rapidly away.

The princess remained tense for a few more seconds, and then after a while she realized what had happened. Her head tilted in confusion, she stared at the wall where the poe had run off to, the blue glow of the lantern still lingering. She'd been shocked that a monster would be wandering so freely in Hyrule that they were now floating around Hyrule castle itself that her first instinct had been to attack it. It was only after she replayed the scene slowly in her head that it occurred to her that the poe had been trying to tell her something. More importantly, it had actually apologized to her as it flew away. "Wait, come back!" she called, "What did you want to tell me? Poe, come back!"

"Is everything all right?"

Zelda turned around and saw that Impa had walked into her room. The princess's shoulders slouched disappointedly. "Yes. I was… I was startled by a poe in my room."

"Vaati's spies," Impa sniffed, "I don't think they intend to hurt you, but they serve as his eyes and ears."

"I see…" Zelda said quietly. She could tell that Impa didn't like poes very much from the way she spoke about them; she could imagine how something unpredictable that could move through walls would frustrate a diligent guardian like Impa. Had that poe been spying on her? But then why did it apologize like that? "Impa I decided," Zelda brushed away the wrinkles in her dress, and straightened her shoulders, "I'm going to see Vaati this afternoon. I'd like to hear what he has to say about my memory loss. I want answers."

"I wanted to speak with you on that matter as well," Impa agreed, and the way she said it made Zelda nervous. Impa's ears always twitched a certain way whenever she had bad news to tell her, and over the years Zelda had become very good at catching it. Impa also noticed Zelda's fingers had curled into fists, and that she was already looking at her knees in dread. The Sheikah guardian sighed and spoke as gently as she could. "Vaati is no longer in his dungeon cell. A guard notified me only minutes ago."

A knot formed in Zelda's stomach, and she looked up slowly in shock. Vaati… gone? "But," she said hoarsely, "but that changes everything."

"I'll organize a group to find him right away."

"No, you don't understand. I…" she trailed off and bit down on her lip.

_I believed in him._

She'd been proved a fool to have given such a dangerous person a chance to escape. Had she been tricked by that look of sincerity? She'd truly believed that he might prove to her that he intended no harm on Hyrule by staying in the dungeons until she decided he wasn't a threat. It had only been two days, and already he'd fled. One night, and a few hours later he was gone. The one person who could give her the other perspective on her missing memory was now gone. And now there was a very powerful, infamous wind mage running around her kingdom doing who knows what. And it was all her fault.

"It's not your fault, princess," Impa reassured, "and we'll find him."

Something was off about the way Impa spoke her last words, and Zelda didn't fail to catch it. She searched her guardian's face, and she frowned. "Impa, there's something else you're not telling me, isn't there?"

The Sheikah gave a small smile. "You have a keen perception, princess. I didn't want to bring up more unpleasant news until you were in a better state of mind, but I suppose I don't have a choice now."

"I can handle it," Zelda replied firmly, but a part of her wavered. She wasn't at all sure if she could handle it, considering all of the confusing surprises that had been thrown at her the past few days. She'd also just learned that she potentially released a highly dangerous person, and she was still shaken with the weight of the responsibility of what she'd done. What had she been thinking?_!_ _I can't believe I trusted him._

"It's about the plague," Impa sat down next to her on the bed, "I have a message from Labrynna. They indicate they have a cure."

"That's wonderful news!" Zelda cried, but then she shrunk back when she remembered this was supposed to be bad news. Putting on a brave face, Zelda asked Impa to go on. "It's conditional, isn't it?"

Impa nodded slowly. "King Roland says he would like to speak with you again. Labrynna offers a cure, but… you should talk to him, princess."

Impa's earlier comment clicked, and Zelda could guess what this was going to be about. "It has to do with Vaati, doesn't it." Her question came as a statement. She already knew the answer.

Impa returned a tired smile. "We'll find him," she repeated.

* * *

fleets: ahhh this was so fun to write. So? Do you think Impa's a 'good guy?' 'bad guy?' What's her motive, huh? :P Is she sending Vaati on a false trail, or is she being truthful? She clearly wanted him gone quickly (ending up with Zelda to having doubts, unfortunately) - intentional or accidental? So many possibilities :D  
ALSO I'D LIKE TO POINT OUT - some of you were wondering who that renegade wizzrobe was that was mentioned by Maribel the last chapter, and I'm going to say this right now: no, he's not Thistle. As much as I love Thistle, he's had his time to shine in Rend and OA. Also he was officially labeled as renegade in Rend, and considering this story came before Rend he would not be labeled as one at this time (yes, he did appear in WIR, but he was still a law-abiding guild member).  
That leaves us with the only possible conclusion that it's a different wizzrobe entirely. You'll meet him, don't worry ;) and I intend to avoid similarities between him and Thistle, because it would be boring if I just retold the Rend/OA story again, wouldn't it?

**Dia Newman: **Elise is shocked that you wish so much harm on her and she is now convinced that a demon has influenced your soul. XD

**GamerxOtaku: **We're not done quite yet with the drama train. I hope I can surprise readers a few times over the course of this story hehe :)

**Spartan Yoshi 90: **Eek thank you! We're not quite out of intenseville yet!

**Reily96: **Haha yeah, well I had an issue with Zelink because... well I guess it always kind of bored me? Like, "hey, hero meets princess. Bam. Fate." I know it CAN be interesting, but it just never appealed to me... Feel free to guess away ;) I used to be totally crazy about people guessing the plot, but I'm pretty confident I can continue to surprise readers for this story even if they do manage to catch on.

**Lord Siravant: **I totally cannot wait to get to DesPonte. I have a thing for quirky characters like him :D  
I knew from the start that Elise wasn't going to be popular, and I have a feeling it's going to get worse when she shows up even more in the story. Religious zealots are always, erm, tricky I suppose, especially when they try to shove their beliefs down everyone's throats...

**Patchworkcrows: **I'M SORRY PLEASE TREAT YOURSELF TO WARM COCOA AND uh... yeah that totally doesn't help does it  
It's not a tragedy though, so I promise it won't be _too_ terribly painful. Um. Well we might have to endure a few soul-cuts along the way but uhhh they say no rainbows unless you have rain amirite?_!_ illshutupnow  
Hahahaha I can totally see him doing that, that big baby nerd XD

**thebeautifulvaati: **Impa gave him some hints, but did they help or hurt? We'll find out I guess!

**MasterShortPantsx3: **I kind of feel bad for giving people updates at really bad hours, like 1 in the morning. But my fingers are already typing and I can't stop them. They're unstoppable! The premise is pretty sad I suppose... if only he knew that we were all rooting for him!

**Ki: **Haha thanks, I'm glad you like the story! The sad thing is, Link couldn't have told her because he can't believe that she actually does/did care about Vaati (a case of being in denial...). Impa's definitely going to play a role in this story, yup! What role, though, is up in the air at this point ;)

**Flufux: **And although she knows he's telling the truth, we don't know for sure if she's really on his side or not with what happened in this chapter... ;)

**SweetestChick: **And another fast update! I'm not sure how I'm doing it, I haven't updated this fast since Beyond Centuries... o_o  
Suspcions suspicions! Who could have possibly done it? :D

**LovelyKiridia: **You got it right! It looks like someone knocked Zelda out (poison!) and broke the vase to make it look like an accident. Unfortunately no one would really believe that since the easier explanation is that Vaati had cursed Zelda for a year and she fell unconscious when the curse broke. Vaati needed to make more friends over the past year because now he's really alone :O  
Ohhh yes he's angry. One furious sorcerer is running around Hyrule right now!

**eureka93: **Yup, it's super easy to blame Vaati now, unfortunately. And of course Link won't tell her because he's still in denial about what happened at the Palace of Winds ("there's no way she could like him...?"). Yeah...  
What oh what is Impa up to? XD

**LoZMadLover: **I COULDN'T HANDLE THE CLIFFIE EITHER. So here's an update haha.  
And I hope I have more questions for you guys to think about before this is over :D  
Ahhh thank you! I'm so happy to hear you like it so far, and thank you for being such a loyal reader! I'm truly blessed :D

**Hawkmask: **Nope, Roland isn't Ganondorf! He's the ancestor to Ralf and Queen Ambi from Oracle of Ages, which is why he has red hair (nintendo really seems to love red headed characters...) He's a Labrynna royal ;)  
Ohhhh and no that wasn't a Thistle reference! He's a different wizzrobe, and he'll play a decent role in this story so you can be that I didn't just mention that on a whim ;)  
This story probably has the most complicated character relations I've ever written in any of my stories to date! It's been a lot of fun these past 6 chapters so far :D

**salmaawesome: **Yep :( Too bad he doesn't know he has fans rooting for him, huh?


	7. On the Move

fleets: The super-crazy updating is still happening I guess. This chapter is a little shorter though, unfortunately! I did write more, but it didn't flow that well so I decided to stop it where I did.

Also some of you were wondering last chapter why Link wouldn't tell Zelda the other half of the story where she actually liked Vaati. I tried to explain it vaguely in the prior chapters and also at the end of WIR, but the reason is that he doesn't actually _believe_ that half of the story, see. There's still a part of him that thinks that it was all some kind of mistake, that she doesn't actually like him, that she really _was_ tricked into liking him. The accident was a perfect opportunity for him to really reinforce the fact that yeah, it was a mistake that she used to like Vaati, so he gave her that side of the story instead :/

* * *

**Chapter 7: On the Move**

Once Vaati had warped outside, he flew up to the rooftops of the castle towers. He moved quickly and with a purpose as he clutched the glass bottle tightly. He took his free hand to his lips and gave a single, sharp whistle, and then dark clouds surrounded him as he transformed into the demon eye. Today he didn't care about appearances or frightening the people below; he wanted them to see exactly what they were messing with.

Sharp winds whipped after him as the huge eye shot across the sky, and just as Vaati made it over the southern gates, another enormous shadow joined him. It was a large, helmed bird with maroon feathers, with a wingspan that could cover several houses in length. The Helmaroc King glanced his way questioningly.

"_Come with me."_ Vaati ordered, and he led the boss monster towards the mountains, away from curious ears.

XXXXXXXXXXX

The Helmaroc King perched wordlessly on top of a boulder while Vaati recounted what had been going on in Hyrule the past few days. He wasn't really sure why the sorcerer had summoned him on top of a mountain to tell him about Zelda's memory loss and the plague, so he just sat patiently and listened. From the sound of it, it seemed that an enemy had removed Zelda's memory of Vaati and had turned everyone in Hyrule against him.

Hah, well, that wasn't really news, was it? The Helmaroc King didn't see anything unusual about being enemies to Hyrule. In fact, he could have said that he'd seen this coming, in a way: monsters and Hylians were never meant to get along. "Ah, so we're allowed to hunt those pitiful Hylians now, Lord Vaati? I suppose that's why you called me." The great bird stretched his wings.

"No."

Helmaroc folded his wings back against his sides, and returned a quizzical look.

"I called you so you know what kind of fool we're going to go after," Vaati replied. The wind mage was sitting on a different rock a few feet away. It was actually close to the spot where he'd decimated the lizalfos a year ago, and the forest far below the mountain was still full of young trees that had sprouted from the ashes. "Zelda's accident, that wasn't an accident."

"It certainly doesn't sound like it," the Helmaroc King agreed.

"And neither is the plague."

"What makes you say that?" the bird asked, even though he himself knew the answer. The Helmaroc King preened his feathers feigning disinterest, but his eyes glanced back towards the sorcerer from time to time, betraying his curiosity.

"It's too convenient, that's why," Vaati mused, a small smile on his face. However, there was a dangerous edge to his voice that indicated he was a hair's breadth away from exploding in violent anger. "Immediately afterwards they are all blaming me for placing a curse on the princess. Everyone is certain that my arcane knowledge was to blame for convincing Zelda to allow monsters to roam freely in Hyrule. And then the plague hits," Vaati snorted bitterly, "Perfect timing, wouldn't you agree?"

"Indeed a perfect way to frame you," Helmaroc nodded.

Vaati fell to brooding silence, and the great bird couldn't help but notice. This wasn't just about Vaati going to hunt down an idiot who picked the wrong fight. That wasn't why the sorcerer had summoned him. "Something else is bothering you."

Vaati laughed in short, harsh chuckles. That smile was still on his face, but it was demented. Broken. The sorcerer finally turned to look at the Helmaroc King, laughing as he did so. If the stoic bird was actually concerned about him, then he must have looked incredibly pitiful. He always did kind of hate how perceptive the Helmaroc King was – it had actually been part of the reason for their conflict last year – but at the same time it was what made the monster an interesting ally. He chuckled to himself some more while the Helmaroc King waited patiently for the sorcerer to explain, and then eventually his laughter died down, almost abruptly, into a deadly calm. There was a memory that haunted Vaati. He couldn't get rid of it, much as he tried. He could still see her face; her blue eyes filled with terror and disgust…

_I sense dark magic from you__._

Vaati sighed heavily. Disgust. Disgust! Of all the emotions he had to endure from her, it had been that one. Hate… hate he could deal with. Hate was simply a different kind of passion, and one that he was well acquainted with. But disgust? She'd looked upon him like an insect that she couldn't dare look at. Once upon a time that same face had looked at him with warmth and joy. They'd laughed together and shared memories together, and even in the most difficult times she'd led him to believe that they could conquer it together. He couldn't face that expression of disgust again.

_Who are you?_

Her voice had wavered slightly, betraying her fear. She'd been afraid. Afraid of _him_. The voice held back and demanded he keep his distance. Her heart was closed and guarded.

"She didn't know who I was, Helmaroc," Vaati mumbled softly. "She didn't recognize me."

_I will never forget you._

"She doesn't remember me."

The words fell heavily out of his mouth, each one carrying a greater weight than the last. It was the first time he'd said it aloud to someone, and now that it was out of his mouth the reality was overwhelming. He didn't want to believe that all the times they had spent together, learning about each other, was gone.

Everything. Gone.

Despite the promises of never forgetting, Princess Zelda had lost her memories of the time she'd spent with him at the Palace of Winds.

The Helmaroc King ruffled his feathers, an equivalent of a shrug. He didn't really understand why the Lord was so distraught over this development; then again, he didn't really understand why the creatures of Light placed so much importance on relationships and feelings. The sly glint of a hunter gleamed in his eye as he looked towards the sky in the direction of Hyrule castle. Even if he didn't understand anything about feelings, he could make sure to keep Lord Vaati on the honorable path of reclaiming his respect. Vengeance. "What are you going to do about it, Lord Vaati?" he asked slowly, an invisible grin tugging along the corners of his battle-scarred beak.

Vaati stirred at the question. He started speaking contemplatively at first, and then his voice began to hold more conviction. He knew what he had to do. There was only one thing he could do. "The princess's memory loss was no accident," he repeated, "someone made her lose her memories. They most likely wanted to pit Hyrule and the monsters together, just like in the past. They wanted to get rid of me." He was snickering darkly now between his words, and his red eyes burned with rage. "I'll find the one responsible, and they'll regret ever making a fool of me. I'll unleash all of the hellish monsters on them until they reverse what they've done to Zelda. If they can't, I'll end them"

Vaati's fingers curled into fists.

"And I'll win her over again if I have to."

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

Part of the reason why Zelda had managed to arrange an in-person meeting with King Roland so quickly was because he hadn't left for Labrynna proper yet, and was near castle town. Apparently three days ago, Zelda had already met King Roland of Labrynna to talk about the tension between the two kingdoms resulting from her alliance with monsters. Of course she didn't remember any of it, and it made her embarrassed and nervous to have to talk to Roland again without knowing what, exactly, had been spoken in their previous meeting. Thankfully, Roland had already been informed by Impa about her "condition," and he had enough tact not to mention it and pretend nothing was wrong in that regard. Zelda was grateful for it: she'd always liked Roland for their mutual understanding of their stressful situations that comes with running a kingdom. He was almost like an older brother, a friend, and a collaborator all in one.

"My feelings go out to those affected by the plague," Roland began. They were seated around a roundtable, with Roland and Zelda sitting across from each other and Impa standing next to Zelda for support. The air was heavy, and it was clear that none of them really wanted to be having this meeting.

"Roughly half of the kingdom is affected. We're struggling to keep the kingdom functioning with half of the population incapacitated," Zelda said with a worried expression. One thing to know about the princess, however (as Vaati found out quickly enough after he'd kidnapped her), was that she wasn't exactly the type of princess who wrung her hands and waited for help to fall on her lap when there was trouble. The worried expression could have been considered to be calculated, since her eyes were sharp and searched the other ruler's expression with intense scrutiny. She _knew_ Roland had a cure for the plague, and from what Impa informed her she also knew it was conditional. She would guilt him for withholding the cure if she had to.

Roland fidgeted in his seat uncomfortably. "Yes, and I wanted to reach out to you regarding a cure that Labrynna has." The king wiped his brow, and then propped his hands on the table in front of him. He stared at his thumbs, wondering the best way to phrase his words. "Our kingdom was affected by the same sickness a few months ago, and one of our chemists was able to find a cure."

"A… chemist?" Zelda asked, unfamiliar with the term.

"Or an alchemist. I forget what he refers to himself as, but it's basically no different than a potion brewer," Roland explained. "Labrynna will lend you his services if," he trailed off, scratched his head in a troubled way, and then started again, "Zelda I believe you've been informed of our discussion a few days ago regarding Labrynna's unease with Hyrule's alliance with the monsters…?"

Zelda nodded. "If it's the alliance that is keeping Labrynna from sharing the cure, then Hyrule will terminate the alliance with the monsters." She still wasn't sure how she'd managed to get the monsters to agree to such an alliance since they'd always been violent in nature, but she had no doubt in her mind that the alliance with monsters wouldn't last very long anyway. She didn't understand them, and her people hated them – it wasn't a good foundation.

"I'm afraid it's still more complicated than that," Roland sighed. "When you first made the alliance, you were apparently with an individual who had a considerable amount of control over the monsters. They say he might have, erm, tricked you into this alliance that caused much tension between Labrynna and Hyrule." The king leaned forward, and this time he was more confident with what he had to say. "What I am proposing is that you put an end to this, 'Vaati,' to ensure that he doesn't trick you again, and we will reopen all friendly negotiations with Hyrule as well as offer the chemist in our employ."

_Vaati. _Zelda's brows wrinkled, and she shot a brief glance towards Impa standing next to her. She knew, then, why Impa had told her that they would need to find the sorcerer again. Zelda lowered her gaze and stared intently at her hands that were clenched together on the table. Roland wanted Vaati gone. Zelda still wasn't sure if she wanted the infamous wind mage dead yet, at least not until she had some answers. At the same time, it was the best chance for Hyrule to find a cure quickly. The fact that half of her kingdom was in a wakeless sleep meant that there were families who'd lost a source of income, there were businesses that were no longer running, healers who were no longer available, farms that no longer had farmers to tend and distribute food. Her kingdom really couldn't last long like this, especially without help.

Her head hurt from the decision she would have to make, and even though she'd been disappointed that Vaati had escaped, she was somehow glad that he'd made the decision easier for her. If he was still in that cell, she would be agonizing what to do. Since he was gone, all she had to focus on now was to find him. Detain him. Stop him. It was the price of one man she hardly knew for her kingdom's survival. "Alright Roland," she said quietly, after a confirmatory nod from Impa.

Roland stood up, and sighed one last time with a shake of his head. He looked as though he wanted to say something, perhaps an apology about the things that had been going on or a word of sympathy, but he left it with a shake of his head. He still thought highly of Hyrule's willful princess, but given the circumstances he wasn't sure if it was appropriate for him to give any encouragement. After all, he was half of her problems. Instead, Roland gave Zelda a single nod, wishing her luck, and left the room, leaving the troubled princess and her guardian to solemnly go over their options.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

"I know there is a wizzrobe you might want to talk to, regarding the poison," the Helmaroc King suggested. He and Vaati had been discussing the blue flower that had been in Zelda's hands, and what kind of substance it had been affected with to cause a memory loss.

Vaati frowned. "A wizzrobe and poisons? I thought they only did fire magic, ice magic, and summoning."

"Yes, well, this one is one of those 'renegades.'"

"Oh…" Vaati's frown deepened. He'd never before met a renegade wizzrobe before, and he'd only ever heard the rumors surrounding them. Wizzrobes were unique from most monsters in the sense that they had their own quirky community with their own extremely strict rules (which was strange, considering how giggly and spontaneous most seemed to be). He didn't involve himself in the affairs of the lower monsters, but he did hear a few things about the Guild Laws that all wizzrobes were mandated to follow. They involved such things like foregoing individuality, forbidding names, and sticking to using one type of magic. If any of the rules were broken, it was said that the other wizzrobes would hastily work to kill the one who had broken them. Renegades were wizzrobes who'd managed to elude the guild and survive; he'd never encountered one himself since they were quite rare to begin with.

Suddenly, Maribel's comment from before made a lot more sense. "I think I heard something about the wizzrobes looking for a renegade," Vaati mentioned.

"Oh, they've been looking for him for months by now I reckon," the Helmaroc King yawned.

"But you know where he is?"

The bird shrugged. "Sure. Arrghus found him bumbling around Eastern Hyrule one day. The only reason he noticed him was because he was acting weirder than normal wizzrobes; something about turning over every single rock around, I don't know."

"I see…" Vaati raised an eyebrow. He wasn't really sure what 'weirder than normal wizzrobes' meant, and wasn't sure if he wanted to find out. "And no one thought to tell any of the wizzrobes this?" he asked.

Helmaroc scoffed. "It's not my damned problem."

Vaati laughed. "Ha. That's what I told them." He played with the tiny glass bottle in his hand with the forget-me-not inside. He was still lost, but he had direction now. This trail might lead him nowhere, but if he could at least find a cure to fix Zelda's memories, then he might be able to find a clue on who was the one responsible for all of this. He had too many suspects right now, especially since nearly everyone in Hyrule had enough of a motive to want Zelda to lose her memories of him. Even Impa, who had helped to point him in the right direction to find a cure and give him confirmation that this wasn't all just an accident, wasn't completely excused from his suspect list. After all, she was a Sheikah, she'd admitted herself that she had more than enough experience to devise a poison that would knock out Zelda's memories, and she could have easily snuck into Zelda's room that morning.

At the same time, why would she help him at all, then? _If_ she was the one responsible, then the only way that would make sense is if she'd wanted him away from Hyrule castle for some reason.

Vaati wasn't stupid. Rash, maybe, and impatient, maybe, but not stupid. He knew with certainty that every single Hylian in Hyrule was a suspect, no matter how helpful they appeared to be. The only people he knew he could trust were his monsters and Zelda herself.

"Well then," he sneered, "let's go find that wizzrobe."

* * *

fleets: And cut! I did write more, but I'm stopping it here. Why? Because I threw in some potential hints about the real nature of what's actually going on here (fun fact, there's a breadcrumb in nearly every chapter), and I didn't want that to be lost with new upcoming introductions. Hopefully I can update again soon since I've already written some of the material for the next chapter :)

Thanks for being awesome everyone! I'm always floored by the reader responses to this story, even though it's a sequel!

**Reily96: **Hahaha ok. I'm putting in hints, tiny ones, in all the chapters so far and sometimes I wonder if I've said too much. I don't think I have yet, but we'll see :P  
I TOTALLY KNOW WHAT YOU MEAN. It's really hard for me to keep my mouth shut for that very reason you describe XD Fffft it's fine, especially since you're not the type to abandon a story easily ;)

**Flufux: **I always knew you were a genius. That makes me a genius, too. XD  
DesPonte whoooo! I'm excited :D

**LovelyKiridia: **Hmmm, interesting! Not just one suspect, but several! Certainly a possibility ;) Like Vaati says, pretty much everyone has a motive so it's anything goes right now.

**MasterShortPantsx3: **Hahaha okay. I updated at a less-crazy hour this time, and I feel much more refreshed and awake than when I updated at 2 in the morning lol. Crazy chapter? Good! There's a lot going on and sometimes I have to make sure I didn't forget anything, because this is all going to come together into something comprehensible eventually :P

**Dia Newman: **Speaking of Elise, what's she up to now? She'll show up again soon...

**Ki: **Nooo problem. I updated this chapter uhhh about 4 days since the last one? Yeah idk what came over me. I think it might have to do with the fact that this story is more like a Mystery genre and I'm killing myself with my own cliffhangers. Vaati suspects Impa too ;) TRUST NO ONE

**eureka93: **She could be helping, she could be hurting... who knows?_!_ XD Hmmm, yeah I'm debating whether or not I should change the Adventure/Romance label into something else. I'm not really sure what this story should be filed under.

**LoZMadLover: **He's out for blood!

**Cutiecat: **And here's more to read! I couldn't wait either. lol sometimes I feel like, since the first chapter of this story was called "It's Complicated," I should have just named ch. 2 "It's more complicated," ch. 3 "It's even more complicated," ch. 4 "It's really complicated," ch. 5 "It's really really complicated," etc.

**GamerxOtaku: ** Haha I can see Vaati fitting into the tsundere trope lol. And what indeed is Impa up to? Everyone's a suspect :D

**thebeautifulvaati: **He sure has a big mess to sort through :O Thanks :D


	8. The Renegade Alchemist

fleets: hmmm, so I'm on my 'Spring' Break but honestly I can't see a speck of Spring anywhere. It's like 20 degrees F and it was snowing earlier? Yeah idk.  
Anyways I'm sorry if anyone has messaged me on dA! I've been a poop trying to reply back, and I will get to them eventually but I've been feeling really distracted lately (more than usual...) so I've been trying not to even open that website. Even this chapter was giving me trouble because I'd keep opening Word, and then closing it, and then opening it again for about 30 times or so because I'd feel super inspired but super unmotivated to actually type something (mostly because I've been really excited about this chapter for a while now, and didn't want it to be meh). Thanks for your patience and support! :)

* * *

**Chapter 8: The Renegade Alchemist**

Vaati wasn't all that thrilled to go find a renegade wizzrobe. He didn't know a lot about them, but he just knew that they were so weird that even the other wizzrobes couldn't stand them. And… they were bad enough that the other wizzrobes wanted to kill them. That's all he really knew about renegade wizzrobes. He had a feeling that he wouldn't like them very much, since he was never really fond of the unpredictable wizzrobes in the first place, and one that didn't even follow their own crazy rules was bound to be troublesome.

Besides, even the normal wizzrobes weirded him out sometimes. Rumor had it that they used to be perfectly normal Hylian men who'd made some kind of twisted deal with a demon from the Dark World to gain magical powers. He wasn't really sure why they were all men, but there was talk that it had something to do with the fact that they were more easily tricked by the lure of magic? At least that kind of made sense, because while Hylian women tended to have natural gifts in magic (like the various witches and fortune tellers, and some Gerudo sorceresses), men rarely had that gift. Some jealous, power-hungry idiot wouldn't hesitate to make a deal with a demon if it allowed them knowledge of magic.

_That story sounds kind of familiar...?_

Vaati shook his head vehemently. They were all second-rate sorcerers who were nothing like him. Nothing at all. And their existence bothered him _a lot_.

Vaati followed the directions that the Helmaroc King had given him. It led him on the far borders of Hyrule, next to the river that led away from the Zora's domain. There, he found a cozy little shack that blended in with the trees, and smoke puffed out from the cobblestone chimney. Someone was home. He kicked open the door without bothering to knock, and he accidentally ended up kicking the door into the unsuspecting resident who'd been walking past.

There was a clatter of shattering glass and an unfortunate thud as a robed figure fell onto the floor. Test tubes slid across the floor, and some liquid that had spilled began to eat through the floor.

"Ah, that's no good." The wizzrobe picked himself up from the floor, and he shuffled over to grab a wet towel and some powder in a bucket. He threw some of the powder onto the liquid that was quickly creating a large hole in the floor, and pushed away some of the broken glassware with the towel. Once he was done, he straightened himself out and faced the visiting wind mage.

The wizzrobe certainly wasn't what other wizzrobes Vaati was used to looked like. He wore a reddish brown robe, indicating that he was a Fire Wizzrobe of a sort, but instead of the normally loosely fitting cloth robe, this one wore a heavy, stiff fabric which was covered by various liquid stains. Thick hide gloves covered his fingers, and instead of the normally colorful masks that other wizzrobes wore, he had a dull orange bird-like mask that covered his entire face.

Vaati waited for the wizzrobe to say something first.

The wizzrobe stared at him expectantly.

Vaati looked at the wizzrobe flatly. After all, wizzrobes tended to be a talkative bunch.

The wizzrobe stared at him expectantly.

Wizzrobes were always giggling. Always.

The wizzrobe stared at him expectantly.

"There's… something I need you to do," Vaati said awkwardly after a prolonged period of staring at each other in complete silence.

The wizzrobe coughed. "Ah, I was wondering if there was something you wanted or if you were going to stand there quietly, looking into my eyes."

"I'm not known for my patience, renegade," Vaati snapped.

The wizzrobe turned around lazily, and walked towards the back of the room where there was a table full of beakers and vials, and pestle and mortar sets. "Hmm, hmm, that's what they call me, is it? Honestly it sounds too intense for a mellow fellow like me," he laughed to himself, "Haha, 'mellow fellow.'"

Vaati followed him inside, careful not to step into the new hole in the floor. This was exactly why he hated dealing with wizzrobes in general; they never took anything seriously, including people like him! "I want you to tell me what-"

"Hmm, hmm, a flower? In a bottle. A pretty little thing," The wizzrobe suddenly whirled around, almost causing the sorcerer to crash into his face.

"Tch, watch where you're-"

The wizzrobe snatched the bottle with the flower in Vaati's hand and brought it up to the light. He tapped the glass with his finger and turned it over a few times before he finally popped open the cap. The wizzrobe took a slip of paper from somewhere within his robe and stuck it inside the bottle. After a while, it turned a dark blue color. "Ah, a poison," he announced, "Curious. Let's chat while I work."

Before Vaati could say any more, the wizzrobe cleared his workbench and put together a series of apparatuses. He dropped the flower into a ceramic mortar and crushed it with the pestle. He then proceeded to mix various liquids with it until there was a blackish mixture, and it was poured into a distilling set. "My name is DesPonte," the wizzrobe said conversationally as he lit a flame under the glassware, "The wizzrobes are a boring bunch, yes? Always giggling like madmen, and yet they have so many rules, I couldn't keep up. I'm too dull to remember all of them, see. Besides, I like my name. A better ring than 'Fire Wizzrobe.' Wanted me to get rid of it." DesPonte twirled his fingers around the glass and cast some kind of spell. Instantly, the black liquid turned a deep purple and there was now a greenish liquid pooling inside the collection bottle.

"Aren't you a wizzrobe?" Vaati scrunched his nose. Still somewhat curious, he tried to peer over DesPonte's shoulders. Although he was familiar with basic potion brewing, whatever it was that DesPonte was doing wasn't like any kind of potion brewing he knew of.

"I suppose I am. Really, though, I'm just an alchemist with some fire magic," the wizzrobe scraped out the solid goo that was left in the distiller into a drying dish. He set fire under that, too, until all the moisture was gone.

_An alchemist?_ Vaati never thought those people actually existed. Didn't they try to turn things into gold or rupees… or some such?

"Ah, see, alchemist. The wizzrobes didn't understand my passion in life." DesPonte tossed a green rupee over his shoulder, which the sorcerer caught. "Hmm, hmm, yes, these things called rupees. The Hylians use it for currency."

Vaati looked at the rupee in his hand. It was about the size of a small pebble. He threw it into a jar. "What business does a wizzrobe have with money?" he asked. Although some monsters like the Rupee Like and the dragons liked to hoard rupees, most monsters found no use for Hylian currency. Especially wizzrobes.

"None, really," DesPonte admitted with a lazy shrug. He walked over to a large book and began to flip through its worn pages. It seemed to be a reference book of some kind. "But ah, curious. You find rupees in all sorts of places. In grass. Under stones. Underwater. In jars. Scattered in all corners of the world. How do they get there? Why are they there? Interesting questions." He put the book away and moved over to a cabinet. "There's only one conclusion, hmmm? They spontaneously appear. Something about the grass. Something about the jars. They only appear in tall grass, you see, and under certain sized stones. What makes these grass different? What of the stones?"

"I'm going to make this _really_ simple for you," Vaati said slowly. He snapped his fingers, and dozens of rupees, green and red, dropped to the floor with bell-like tinkles. "That's how."

DesPonte paused his work, and stared at the rupees all over the floor. His eyes widened behind his mask, and Vaati could practically see the cogs turning in his head. For a moment, Vaati wondered if he'd just smashed the wizzrobe's dream to find the answers to his life work. That didn't seem to be the case, however. After a while, DesPonte's shoulders slouched, and he went back to picking out different solutions from the cabinet. "Hmm, hmm? Magic I see. Some altruistic individual conjures rupees across Hyrule you say? No, that is a silly idea. Impossible for one person to hide rupees in so many places at once," DesPonte tutted, "Stupid for one person to be so benevolent without any logical return."

"Now imagine an entire race of these stupid individuals," Vaati said tiredly.

"Interesting. You say there is a race that hides rupees? For enjoyment?" the wizzrobe set down the bottles of liquid he'd picked out, as well as some bottles containing different plants, roots, and… other… things.

"Right."

DesPonte paused again, and this time he turned around, leaning back against his workbench and looking at Vaati with an incredulous expression. Finally he shook his head sadly. "Lord Vaati has a big imagination. A charming outlook, but incorrect."

Vaati shrugged. He never thought he'd manage to make a wizzrobe of all things to think he was being ridiculous, but whatever. Honestly he could see where DesPonte was coming from: the Minish were an idiotic race and they could all go extinct for all he cared. What kind of race spent their entire time serving other races without getting anything in return? What kind of race wasted their lives hiding rupees in the most obscure places for other races to find? A stupid one.

A dying one.

DesPonte's chatter interrupted Vaati's thoughts about the Minish. It seemed that the wizzrobe was at least talkative regarding topics of his studies. "Hmm, but see, I test the spontaneous conjuration hypothesis. Alchemy! There must be a natural reason why rupees appear," he mumbled to himself, "A reaction, surely? Need the right reagents. But what combination? Needs more study." DesPonte mixed a bunch of things into a bubbling potion pot. "Sigh. I've mostly succeeded in creating various poisons. Also bombs. Many, many bombs. A messy conclusion. An expensive endeavor. How unfortunate that I would need rupees to try to make more rupees."

A few minutes later, the wizzrobe scooped up some of the liquid from the potion pot into a bottle, sealed it with a cork, and dropped it into Vaati's hand. "Aha, cure was simple. Here, take this. Have the victim drink it, it should work within the hour."

Vaati looked at the new bottle in his hand. It was a tiny bottle with about two teaspoons of clear liquid. The sorcerer frowned, wondering how the wizzrobe knew he'd wanted a cure when he'd never mentioned such a thing.

"Well I assumed that's why you came here. Simple logic," DesPonte explained, reading Vaati's mind. Then, he started cleaning his workbench again, getting ready to go back to whatever it was he'd been doing before Vaati's unannounced visit.

"Wait." Vaati stopped him. For a brief, rare second, DesPonte actually managed to appear nervous, intimidated by the way the sorcerer was approaching him. The aura around him was deadly, ready to kill. "I want to know more about the poison. What is it?"

DesPonte, coughed, clearing his throat. He talked a little quickly, trying to regain his composure. "Hmm, hmm, it localizes its attack to knock out memories. Very faint vapor fumes would do it. Must smell it. The fumes rid memory by-"

"I was already told how it works," Vaati snapped. He strode over, grabbed the wizzrobe by the collar and roughly pulled his face down to his. "I want to know where it's from. Where can it be obtained? How common is it? What kind of person would be able to make it?"

Still being pulled downwards by the shorter wind mage, DesPonte took a deep breath. "Ah, now you ask the boring questions. I see. Very well." He straightened up hastily when the sorcerer released his hold, and then somewhat disgruntled, stalked off to a corner. "Poison. Liquid. Converts to gas fairly quickly, but not too quickly that it evaporates instantaneously. Hmm, combustion analysis, green flame? Faint compounds from… swamp regions. Bogs. Hmm, hmm, yes I believe that's all I can say. Easy for me to make. Not sure how easy for others."

_Bog? _Vaati's eyes widened when he remembered something he'd heard recently. He hadn't paid much attention when he'd first heard it, but now…

_Manhandla!_ Vaati thought about the report by that poe, Maribel, that he'd brushed aside before.

"_There have been several people who have approached it but only took some water samples and left it alone…"_

_Several people? _Vaati turned his heel abruptly and made for the door. _Could it be… there's more than one person behind this?_! Wait, no, he wasn't sure yet. He didn't know for sure that the Manhandla report had anything to do with this, but he needed to make sure. He glanced at the cure in his hands, and then glowered. As much as he wanted to get Zelda back to normal as soon as possible, there wasn't much time to go see the Manhandla. He didn't know who he was dealing with, and the more time passed the less likely it was that the monster would be able to tell him anything useful; he had to go there first. He needed to go to the swamp and get that slobbering four-headed plant to tell him everything it knew. He hadn't considered it before, but if there really were multiple people involved then… _I'm going to kill them all._

DesPonte seemed a little less nervous now that Vaati had given him some breathing room and was on his way out the door. He waved his hand conversationally. "Ah, Lord Vaati, have you heard of the plague in Hyrule? Interesting topic. Intriguing. Wonder what caused it, yes?"

Vaati wasn't paying attention. He didn't care about the stupid plague right now – he needed to go to that swamp.

"First time Hyrule might actually fall, truly and surely, in many a century," DesPonte insisted loudly, "It wasn't the great lords who felled it, but a disease! Curious. Interesting."

Vaati paused with his hand on the doorknob. He turned his head slowly, and then searched the wizzrobe's face. It betrayed nothing except the curiosity of an observer, and the unspoken question "What are you going to do about it?"

Would Vaati let Hyrule fall by something other than his own hand?

"Goodbye," DesPonte finally waved after the sorcerer had left. The wizzrobe dusted himself off and went back to his workbench. "You'll be back."

XXXXXXXXXXXX

It was the second time Link was summoned to meet Princess Zelda within a week. Even though Link was happy that they were finally talking again after nearly a year of awkward silence, a part of him was cautious to feel too grateful for the meetings. When he stepped into the throne room, Zelda had her back to him, and her head was angled downwards as though she were troubled. It reminded him of back when she'd summoned him that fateful day, right before she'd been kidnapped, to accompany her to the Four Sword Sanctuary. Link already knew his answer to whatever it was Zelda was going to ask of him: if she needed help, he wasn't going to hesitate.

"Link I…" Zelda turned around halfway, but she wouldn't face him completely, "I feel terrible for asking this of you, but you're the only one who can help me." She glanced his way, and when Link gave a silent nod of understanding, she gave a tired smile appreciatively, "I haven't even told you what I need help with yet."

"Whatever it is, I'll help you."

Zelda looked towards her feet again in shame. It really wasn't fair to have Link go through this again, even though he would no doubt say he wouldn't mind, but she saw no other alternative. "As you know, the plague has reduced the number of guards I can ask for help, especially since whatever soldiers are left have their hands full trying to help the rest of the kingdom. All capable hands are currently helping take over some of the essential jobs that have been crippled because of the plague." The princess sighed heavily, "Labrynna has offered a cure on the condition that the Wind Mage Vaati is defeated. I'm sorry Link, you're the only one I can ask to defeat him."

Link nodded again. "You can count on m-"

"I'm going too!"

Link and Zelda looked up at the visitor who had burst through the doors, pushing past the guards and Impa and striding right up to the steps of the throne. Elise the White Maiden stopped next to the surprised Link and crossed her arms haughtily. "I heard wind that we are going to defeat the vile sorcerer once and for all." Then, she gave a brief smile and a respectful bow, "Hylia be praised you have returned to your senses, Princess Zelda."

"Thank you, Elise," Zelda returned a smile, though it was a somewhat troubled one. "I'm still trying to adjust." Then, she noticed Link's confused expression. "Ah! Link, I don't think I ever introduced you two properly before. This is the White Maiden, Elise. She's been helping me come up with the seven maiden project. It would be one of Hyrule's greatest lines of defense against monsters."

"Uhm, well the project has come to a near halt this past year," Elise bit her lip, "But that's fine! We can renew our efforts now that we have our true enemy in our sights!" she added hurriedly when Zelda looked down at her feet in shame.

At this time, Link spoke up in a somewhat awkward manner. "I'm not sure if it's a good idea for you to come with me," he said slowly. He was used to working alone, and although company was nice, he didn't know if he could be responsible enough to look out for the safety of another person. Elise raised her eyebrows, obviously offended, so he clarified, "look, we're going to be going after Vaati and it's going to be really dangerous."

"Actually I wouldn't be too worried about that, Link," Zelda ensured. "Elise is a very capable priestess with powerful light magic. We used to train together after all."

The priestess fidgeted in embarrassment with a light blush on her cheeks and mumbled her thanks. Then, with renewed confidence from Zelda's words, she turned towards the still-skeptical Link. "Right, so I'm going with you," she declared. "In fact, you _need_ me to be able to defeat Vaati for good. The Four Sword isn't good enough."

"You have an idea, Elise?" Zelda asked, "It is inevitable that the Four Sword will weaken over time, but I've never heard of anything that is more powerful."

Elise shook her head. "No, it is not necessary to find another weapon." The priestess reached into a small white bag she had slung across her shoulders, and pulled out a large map of the entire Hyrule region. She laid it out across the floor and the three of them gathered around it. On it, four locations were marked with a red circle. "Instead, we temper the blade," she explained, "I've been searching these past few years as part of the seven maiden project on the location of sacred ore that can be used to make the Four Sword even more powerful. Once we have them, we can have a skilled blacksmith temper the blade. I believe it can be powerful enough that it would defeat Vaati forever."

"Forever…" Zelda repeated softly. If they pulled this off, if this really worked, then no one would ever have to face Vaati's wrath ever again. Likewise, if this worked, then the answers to her questions about her memory loss may also be lost forever. Even though she knew that Vaati needed to be defeated in order to retrieve the cure from Labrynna, she'd never actually considered his defeat to be a 'forever.' The fact that there was still a possibility to release him again, gave her some weird sense of comfort that the answers to her questions weren't lost forever. It was all selfish reasons for not wanting him gone completely, really. Logically it made perfect sense to defeat such a powerful menace once and for all, but there was a nagging part of her that made her reluctant to be one hundred percent on board with this plan. The way the sorcerer had looked at her, like he'd been betrayed in the most terrible way, flashed in her mind's eye. _Why did you look at me like that?_

"Zelda?"

Zelda looked up, startled, and she realized Link and Elise had been talking to her. Both of them were searching her face, concerned that something was wrong. She shoved her thoughts aside, shaking her head clear. Instead, she focused on the one thing that had always given her direction whenever she had to make difficult decisions for her kingdom. Her reluctance to rid Vaati forever was an artifact of her selfishness. If she followed her duty to her kingdom, the answer was simple. At least... that's what she told herself. "Elise," she instructed, causing the priestess to straighten up, "please be Link's guide to acquire the ores, and help him however you can."

"Of course, princess."

Then, Zelda turned to Link and placed a gentle hand on his shoulder. It was somewhat apologetic, as though she were still guilty about asking him to do this for her, "ensure the darkness never returns," she murmured. Her feelings weren't into it, however, and it was betrayed in her voice.

Link put on a brave smile. "I won't fail you," he said with conviction, and Zelda was thankful for it. No matter what her decision, Link was always behind her, supporting her. It gave her a comfortable illusion that she wasn't making a mistake after all.

* * *

fleets: Say hi to DesPonte :3  
Sorry for those of you who were expecting Thistle, but he won't appear as a major character this story (especially since this story is before Rend, if there even is a timeline for my stories, so he's still kind of figuring himself out and isn't officially 'Thistle' yet, if that makes any sense ha). I'm not going to explain more than is already explained in the chapters about what renegade wizzrobes are, since they kind of spoil my other stories somewhat.  
I also deduced that all of the wizzrobes in my stories are male. I won't blabber about my entire thoughts on the matter here, since that's not what this story is about, but maybe one day I'll share a little more about my thoughts on my OC wizzies.  
But anyways, so yeah DesPonte is a completely different character to Thistle. They're quirky in different ways, so hopefully I can get that across since I definitely don't want them overwriting each other. While DesPonte thinks the idea of the Minish is absurd, I'm pretty sure Thistle would believe the story instantly. In that sense Dessy would get along with Vaati more probably.

Eh, yeah, stuff happens. Elise happens. Does this make her a bigger suspect? I know some of you think it's her already :) I kind of thought it would be a neat idea if there was something that happened between FS and FSA that prevented Vaati from coming back EVER (well, ok, I'm still hoping Nintendo would feature him in a game again but I really don't have high hopes heh...). I figured upgrading the sword might do it!

**Dia Newman: **Haha that's fine :) I'd be surprised if people followed the breadcrumbs since they're not supposed to be super obvious yet

**thebeautifulvaati: **Insane(ly) angry Vaati is one of my favorites to write haha

**MasterShortPantsx3: **Could it have been her? She definitely has a motive (then again everyone does) XD

**Ki: **I have a soft spot for the Helmaroc King, especially since he was my favorite boss in WW :D. No Thistle this time! He's had his time to shine :)

**Reily96: **A serious(?) wizzrobe for once. I actually based him off of my chemistry professor who rarely spoke with full sentences... Ffff me too idk why but there's something about the crazy fictional characters that I always end up liking -_-;;

**TriceratopsX: **Yupyup! My outline is my best friend in this story, otherwise I risk forgetting to mention important seemingly-minor things that end up important later on (like the Manhandla mention a few chapters ago that ended up being relevant in this chapter). Elise is crossed out, Impa still a suspect! It's really interesting for me to hear everyone's different guesses on who they think is the bad guy in this story :3

**GamerxOtaku: **You think you know who it is? oooo well I have been dropping hints :D I wonder if you're right hehe :)

**Cutiecat: **It's partly Vaati's fault he's in this whole situation, since he tried to be a menace to the kingdom and all haha. I guess it's Karma? And ahh a road trip! I usually get carsick when I do anything other than sleep or look out the window D: I wish I had your no-carsick-reading skills!

**eureka93: **Well technically you wouldn't be wrong if you blamed everyone, since there has to be the suspect among those somewhere...? (throw them all in jail! whoohooo!) Haha yeah that does sound like a Zelda thing to do XD  
Epic ey...? Well we'll see about that! There's always a possibility I would sink this thing (which is why I'm always excited yet terrified of writing the ending chapter).  
They're actually really pretty flowers! Cute, too :D I think there's a place in the world where there's an entire blue field covered with them.


	9. The Silent Swamp

fleets: Ok, ok so I haven't visited dA in a while so I don't know what's going on over there (again, sorry if you messaged me and I haven't replied). I'll visit it eventually and reply to anyone who attempted to communicate with me (I'm sorry!).

Well, um, yeah, so I guess here's another chapter. I was a little stressed with real life stuff, so I ended up writing, and here we are.

* * *

**Chapter 9: The Silent Swamp**

Vaati reconvened with the Helmaroc King just as the sun was beginning to set. He glanced up at the falling sun irritably, annoyed that there were so many things he needed to do but not enough time to do it all in a single day. Impa had given him a hint on what to do this morning, and it had taken nearly an entire day to get advice from the Helmaroc King, find the wizzrobe, and figure out what to do next. While Vaati was closer to figuring out who he was up against, he still felt like he didn't have anything substantial. He preferred it when his enemy was visible, that they didn't take the cowardly way to fight and went against him head on. It was a smart way to fight him, he admitted grudgingly to himself, because anyone who fought him fairly would undoubtedly lose. In that sense, he liked Link better than whoever he was going against now; at least that idiot came running, waving his sword, charging straight on without a hint of fear.

That was assuming, however, that Link wasn't also part of this underhanded scheme to get rid of him.

When darkness hit, it was going to be easier to miss things, but if Vaati kept putting things off until the morning then he would be giving his enemies more time to hide their tracks. There was another thing, too, that he had to worry about now. The sorcerer was impatient to go to the swamp and he knew he had to go there soon, but what DesPonte had said right as he'd left the little shack had gnawed on his mind. Hyrule would fall, but not by his hand. In fact, it wasn't going to fall by anyone's hand, but by a mysterious disease that had suddenly struck nearly half of the kingdom's population. Every day that passed, Hyrule grew weaker, and by the time he solved this whole mess there might not even _be_ a Hyrule to come back to.

"I _hate_ playing hero," Vaati muttered under his breath.

"What was that?" The Helmaroc King, perched on a rock next to the sorcerer, cocked his head, but Vaati just waved his hand dismissively.

"There's a reason I summoned you in particular," Vaati said, ignoring the Helmaroc King's question. He gazed at Hyrule castle far in the distance. The brown roofs of the town were scattered in a peaceful bustle around the serene white castle. From where Vaati was sitting, no one could have guessed that the kingdom was struggling, slowly losing its fight against a plague. "Hyrule might fall this time. To a plague."

Helmaroc followed the sorcerer's gaze, and then huffed. "Typical of them to succumb to such ailments." The bird clicked his beak unsympathetically, "let them fall, I say. Weed out the ones who are too weak to survive. Perhaps they will eventually learn that clinging on to ones already lost will only weaken them further."

"I share your sentiments," Vaati agreed, "but it irritates me that I wasn't the one who conquered Hyrule. That kingdom was mine – no, it still _is_ mine, and something else is trying to take it away from me. I won't allow it to fall so easily." Then, he added in a voice that was too low for the bird to hear, "it's not what she would have wanted."

"Ha! How in the world would you stop a plague, Lord Vaati? How do you defeat something that is intangible? It is their own fault for being crippled by a disease," the Helmaroc King scoffed. The bird didn't understand plagues, either. For some reason or other, monsters never got sick. Traditionally, monsters were the ones to spread disease but they rarely got sick themselves. It was just another reason why monsters tended to disrespect the frail Hylians. "Why not take advantage of the situation and run over Hyrule for good? We've all been itching for something to do. The princess's orders are the only reason we refrain from punishing the Hylians for their weakness, but your word is the last as our Lord and Master."

Vaati's eyes narrowed as he stared at the quiet kingdom. He knew exactly how Hyrule was going to die a slow death with the current state of affairs. Even though he knew that Zelda would do everything in her power to keep it afloat, it would eventually, inevitably fall if she couldn't find a cure. To suddenly have half of the kingdom incapacitated was extremely damaging. On top of trying to figure out how the kingdom was going to run with so many people unable to work, there was another issue of finding enough people to care for the ones who had been affected by the plague. They would die eventually, if they didn't wake to eat, and the only course of option was to probably keep them in stasis crystals. If this went on long enough, Hyrule would be in such disarray that it would fall apart.

The one thing that might keep them going for some time was the idea that he was the source of Hyrule's misfortunes. Hyrule knew, or at least it thought it knew, who their real enemy was, and that person was Vaati. As long as they believed that, then they could probably struggle on for an additional month or two more while they worked on trying to get rid of him.

_I wonder if Zelda thinks I caused the plague, too._

Vaati scowled. She probably did. She probably thought he was responsible for everything wrong that's been happening. Impa was the only one who didn't think he'd caused the plague, but he doubted that the Sheikah would have told Zelda about it. Like Impa had said, she had no real motivation to absolve Vaati from blame. From the moment they'd met, it had been clearly established that he and Impa were not allies, and the only reason why Impa would even pretend to help him was if it might help Zelda.

Yeah. Zelda probably blamed him for everything right now.

_Well it's not like I care if Zelda blames me,_ he thought sourly, _I could do a whole lot worse than a stupid plague. A lot worse. Let them watch me turn the entire kingdom to stone. If they think a plague is the best I could do then they're going to have a nasty surprise. Me? A plague? That's not terrifying, that's just depressing. I thrive on terror: who do they think I am?_! _They insult my capabilities._

"…Lord Vaati you're talking to yourself again."

Vaati blinked at the sound of Helmaroc's voice. He hadn't noticed that he'd been thinking aloud.

"So? Shall we turn Hyrule to stone, Lord Vaati?" the bird echoed Vaati's mutterings.

Vaati scowled again, and frowned at his feet. There was something he was struggling with, regarding the plague. The thing was, he knew exactly what he could do to help Hyrule. And he knew what steps to take because of his background. All of the things that had been drilled into his head when he'd been a kid, all of the natural, foolish instincts that he just couldn't get rid of no matter how hard he tried, could tell him what needed to be done to help Hyrule. It was because he'd once been a part of a race that was so stupid that all they ever did was help people. Stupid. Idiotic. Pitiful to the extremes. How he hated them. How he wanted them to burn up in flames.

The Minish.

"I summoned you again for a reason," Vaati repeated his earlier words, ignoring the Helmaroc King's question again. He grimaced a bit at how easily his next words came out of his mouth, like he'd always been ready to do this kind of work rather than terrorize everyone. "I want you to spread word to the other monsters. Do what they can to ease the mass collapse of the kingdom from the plague."

The Helmaroc King's yellow eyes squinted from behind his mask, but he said nothing. At the same time, he didn't hide his incredulous expression.

"Thieves would take advantage of the current confusion, so tell the poes and ghinis to patrol castle town at night. It should be easy for them to do while staying out of sight of the remaining guards because they can move through walls. If there's anyone suspicious about, tell the ghosts to scare them: they're good at that."

The great bird listened carefully, still surprised, while Vaati continued.

"The miniblins can sneak into abandoned homes. Do some housekeeping for places where the inhabitants were put down by the plague. Moblins should help with physical labor. There's bound to be farmhands missing, or other places that need heavy lifting. But they are not to make a scene. Avoid the Hylians unless absolutely necessary, because that would only complicate things…" he trailed off, and then noticed the Helmaroc King looking at him blankly. "Did you get all of that?"

The great bird ruffled his feathers, and tapped his beak against the ground distractedly. "Er, yes." The Helmaroc King couldn't help but wonder where Vaati had learned how to be so… helpful. It was a little weird, and it made him uncomfortable. It was completely out of character from the frightening demon eye who was powerful and normally selfish.

Vaati didn't fail to catch the hesitation, and in an instant he transformed into the black eye, towering over the Helmaroc King and pressuring him threateningly. "_Did you get all of that?"_ The demon eye repeated, his voice booming against the rocks and causing a few pebbles to roll down the mountain.

The Helmaroc King straightened up almost immediately in front of the glaring eye that took up most of his view. Whatever uncertainty the bird had about Vaati instantly vanished. "Yes."

"_Good."_ Vaati floated a few feet back, giving the bird some space. _"I'm leaving that to you. I have other matters to take care of,"_ the demon eye ordered, and without another word he flew off towards the south. There was a swamp monster he needed to pay a visit to, and it was going to tell him everything it could about those suspicious people who'd been seen wandering around the swamp recently.

He'd gotten his hands on Zelda's cure in a single day. With any luck, he might be able to find out the ones responsible by nightfall.

Vaati laughed bitterly to himself.

Ha. There was no way things were going to be that easy.

XXXXXXXXXXX

The sun was on its last leg across the sky, almost dipping past the horizon in a burst of orange, by the time Vaati arrived at Hyrule's southern swamps. The monstrous black eye had been a shadowy blur as it sped past Hyrule, and anyone who'd seen the sorcerer fly towards the swamp must have thought he was a rapidly moving storm cloud. The cattails bowed to the winds when Vaati hovered to a stop above the stagnant pools where the Manhandla was said to reside.

"_Manhandla! Show yourself!"_ Vaati shouted. Startled guays flew away, and Vaati waited for the four headed plant to answer his summons. Vaati's blood red eye darted left and right at the bubbles that occasionally popped over the surface of the water, but they appeared to be nothing more than gas escaping from the mud below.

It was quiet. Too quiet. The demon eye clenched its black claws apprehensively, and then it noticed something on the edge of its vision. Turning around, Vaati noticed some trees that appeared to be freshly damaged, and they formed a path deeper into the denser, wooded area of the swamp away from the open water. It almost looked like some large creature had run through those trees in a rampage.

Suspicious, he floated over to the broken tree trunks half-submerged in the swamp water. He peered through the darker interior of the denser woods: he wouldn't be able to squeeze in easily in his demon form. Vaati transformed back into his Hylian form, and he landed on top of a splintered tree trunk. Then, he sent several scouting sentry eyes into the woods ahead, and he slowly followed behind them, hovering just above the water's surface.

Dusk was working against him now, and it was becoming increasingly difficult to find any clues in the dimming light. The very end of the broken trees led him to just more swamp. The water was shallower here, and there were some muddy patches of grass that was solid enough to stand on. "Manhandla!" Vaati called again. The monster _had_ to be here, but where was it?

Suddenly, one of the sentry eyes alerted him to something unusual several feet away from where Vaati was floating. The sorcerer teleported over, and his brows furrowed at what awaited him there. Partly submerged in the murky swamp water, an enormous monster lay slain. At first glance it looked like a gigantic, bluish plant that was covered in thorns, but there were four eyeless heads similar to Deku Babas that extended out from it. The heads were huge: it could easily eat a person whole.

Vaati landed on top of one of the monster's heads, and gave it a sharp stomp with his foot. No response. The Manhandla was dead.

The sorcerer didn't know what to think. He'd been expecting to see the swamp monster alive, so that it would be able to tell him something about the suspicious visitors. Instead, it was dead and everything it could have told him had died with it. He'd come here trying to find answers to his questions, and instead found more questions and no answers.

Who had killed it? And why? Did someone decide to silence the monster because of something it knew?

Vaati summoned a small light to combat the increasing darkness. The sun had set by now, and the trees weren't making it any easier to see the area clearly. Under the light's blue-white glow, Vaati saw that there were large slashes across the Manhandla's jaws, along with dried splashes of red blood mixed with the monster's blue. It had fought a person with a blade, and most likely not another monster. He looked some more. In the submerged part of the Manhandla's neck, he saw the feathered tip of an arrow lodged into the monster. Curious, he reached into the water and pulled it out with a bit of a struggle.

Yes, a person had definitely done this. This wasn't some internal feud between monsters. He tossed the arrow aside and wiped his hand dry on his tunic. Now that he was convinced that someone had killed the Manhandla, the monster that might have been able to tell him who was responsible for Zelda's memory loss, he needed to find out who the killer was.

Or who _they_ were.

Another one of his sentries called him from the edge of the swamp water where there was muddy ground. Footprints, it notified him. Several footprints belonging to a group of people, all wearing boots. Vaati wasn't too surprised at this point: the Manhandla was a ferocious, powerful creature, and it would have taken more than a single person to bring it down. A group had come through this swamp with the purpose of killing it. Was his prime target among them, or had they simply been following the orders of someone else? And again, the question always came back to this: why did they kill the Manhandla?

His leads ended there. There were plenty of people who could have wanted the monster dead, and there were plenty of people with swords and arrows to do the job. There were also plenty of people who had the motivation to cause Zelda's memory loss, and to make him the villain, so his list of suspects still remained at an all-time high of "everybody." Frustrated, Vaati slapped away a sentry that had been hovering too close to his face.

Could this swamp tell him nothing of use? Was his only option now to give Zelda the cure, somehow, and see if she remembered anything useful?

There was a reason why he hesitated simply rushing over to her now and giving her a cure. He didn't know if he wanted to see her cringe away from him again, completely oblivious to everything they'd ever gone through. It had been bad enough experiencing that kind of loss the first time, and meeting her again would be just like losing her all over again.

Slipping the cure in her drink without anyone noticing was easier said than done, because he knew that Impa was frustratingly meticulous about checking what was served to the princess. Now that everyone knew he was "on the loose," security would undoubtedly be heightened. He'd have to face her himself, somehow… or something… well, okay, so he had no idea how he was even going to get Zelda to take the cure when everyone suspected him to be "up to no good." Of course he could tell Impa he'd found the cure, but he couldn't trust that guardian to let him give it to the princess. Impa might have helped him once, but he still didn't consider her clear from his list of suspicious people.

Another abrupt call from one of his sentries interrupted Vaati's thoughts. Now that it was dark, they appeared as zipping red lights in the swamp with their glowing eyes. One of them flew around in exaggerated circles some distance away, and then sent Vaati a mental image of something it had found stuck in the mud. Immediately, Vaati teleported over, and his eyes narrowed when he saw what it was.

It was a smooth pole snapped in half that was lodged in the ground, and the sentry had first found it when it had noticed the corner of blue and gold fabric sunk into the brown mud. Vaati pulled it out in a swift motion, and revealed it to be the tip of a sharp spear. What was of interest, however, was the torn remains of the banner that had been tied to it. The banner was a dark navy blue, and although most of it was torn off, Vaati could make out the gold outline of an insignia with a tree.

Vaati's hands clenched the pole angrily. "Good work," he praised the sentry, and the little eye bat fluttered around happily before it flew off to find any other things of interest. The sorcerer, however, didn't need any more information about what had happened here.

The insignia was Labrynna's. The banner indicated that Labrynnian soldiers had killed the Manhandla, and the one to order this would undoubtedly be their king, Roland. Vaati remembered the worried, red-haired man who had visited Hyrule a day before the incident that left Zelda without her memories, and he knew now that Labrynna's king was definitely involved in this. "I should have dealt with him right then and there," Vaati mused, "Labrynna's king is going to have a visit from me soon, and he better have some good answers prepared."

Roland might weasel out some reason that he'd killed the Manhandla simply because the monster was a monster that needed to be killed, but Vaati knew better. Manhandla's death was too convenient – the monster _knew_ something, and Roland wanted to hide it from him. Some suspicious people had been visiting the swamp, collecting water samples, which was something DesPonte had told him was part of the poison used on Zelda. Manhandla had come in contact with these people, and now it was dead by the hands of Labrynnian soldiers. Yes, Roland was a part of this, and the king was going to answer to him. No doubt Roland also had a hand in the plague's appearance as well, which had occurred just two days after Zelda had lost her memories.

But… this probably wasn't going to work with Vaati's usual methods of direct confrontation. He'd learned a bit from Zelda over the past year that a victory wasn't exactly a victory if there were strong repercussions afterwards. Before, he would have immediately rushed to Labrynna and given Roland a waking nightmare, but he'd learned a thing or two about the value of careful planning. Even if he managed to get Roland to admit his part in Zelda's "accident," what would that accomplish? Self-satisfaction that he'd been right to suspect Roland? If he turned the king of Labrynna to stone in front of the entire court, would that solve everything?

It would be a brief moment of glee, but it wouldn't be as sweet as it would be if he could have Hyrule behind him as well. To be able to point his finger and laugh while everyone who'd gone against him grudgingly agreed to admit he was right; now _that_ would be the perfect way to claim victory. He wanted Labrynna to crumble and fall on top of its pile of lies. Afterwards, well, maybe he'd give Labrynna a taste of what wrath Hyrule had endured from the great sorcerer of winds.

And to do that he'd need… backup. A trump card, should things go wrong. He needed Zelda behind him, with her memories returned.

Vaati winced. He still hadn't figured out how to get the cure to Zelda, and he was still reluctant about having to meet her face to face. He looked up at the sky. The stars were starting to appear where the sky was no longer dusky red. For now, he would go back to the Palace of Winds and sleep on what he'd accomplished today.

* * *

fleets: whoo lots of stuff in here.

I've always liked the interpretation by some fans that Vaati didn't completely lose his Minish habits. They're inherently helpful, so Vaati can't help it if he's good at knowing what to do to make people's lives better :P Sometimes I have this stupid image of Vaati fussing over dirty dishes and cleaning things to the extreme.  
This chapter I introduced the Manhandla! Yay! I drew it in a few sketches for the characters that would appear in this story, because I'm pretty fond of the monster. Generally, "fond" translates to "dead" more often than not in my stories, so sorry if you guys expected it to appear alive XD

And finally, Roland. Did Vaati get it right? Either way I'd hate to be Roland right now.

Thank you thank you thank you everyone who's been reading this story! I had a really crazy surprise when I learned that there were over 550 unique visitors in just this past month who'd decided to give this story a chance, and I'm going to try my hardest to make this story worth your while!

**Patchworkcrows: **Oh dear, please stay alive. I'd hate to have 'murder' on my resume when I start looking for jobs.  
THAT'S TRUE. Although... I'm still really skeptical since Nintendo seems to have lost all interest in Vaati and have been replacing him with a bunch of other similarly flamboyant villains (Ghira, Yuga...)

**TheMultiColoredPencil: **Thanks for your continued support! Hopefully I can keep the surprises coming until the very end!

**GamerxOtaku: **Haha yeahhh Elise does not like Vaati. At all. Haha okay :) I guess we'll find out if you're right when I reveal with certainty who'd done it ;)

**Flufux: **Mordin! God I love that Salarian :D. DesPonte was inspired by my old chemistry professor, who also probably had a Mordin-flair. He talks slower than Mordin though (because dang does Mordin talk _fast_).

**Dia Newman: **The maidens! Interesting idea ;) Vaati seems convinced Labrynna had to do with this, but only time will tell

**Cattycheeno: **Haha exactly! But what happy couple doesn't butt heads every now and then? XD

**thebeautifulvaati: **DesPonte is really different from Thistle. He's more mellow, less ambitious, and probably more sure of himself since he doesn't have Thistle's inferiority complex.

**Ki: **There's something about wizzrobes that I find very fun to write, probably because they lighten the mood in an otherwise gloomy story idk. And ahhh thank you so much! I think about the OCs way too much probably haha. If Annoying was a character, then Elise would be it. I didn't create her to be liked, that's for sure XD

**SweetestChick: **Vaati unfortunately has a lot of things going against him: maybe if he had a better track record before this whole mess, then Zelda might have given him a chance (THAT'S KARMA FOR YOU, VAATI). Elise not the main antagonist, hmm? What with this chapter's developments, I wonder if you're right :P

**Cutiecat: **Haha don't worry, he paid attention. Although it kind of does sound like DesPonte knows more than he seems at the very end of the last chapter, so maybe it would have been better to stay just a little longer...? Maybe?  
I had immediately labeled Elise as The Great Annoyer when I was just starting to make the outline for this story haha

**MasterShortPantsx3: **DesPonte would like to thank you for thinking he is cool :)

**eureka93: **Everyone! Including Zelda! And all the monsters! And Vaati himself!  
I love wizzrobes! They show up quite a bit in all of my stories. I really started to like them when I saw them in WW because they had so much character :D  
The idea of Minish and rupees actually isn't mine: it was mentioned in the Minish Cap that the Minish were the ones responsible for scattering rupees around Hyrule for adventurers like Link to find :)

**LovelyKiridia: **You mean with the silent s? Yup! And yeahhh Vaati has everything imaginable against him. Link unfortunately doesn't mean to be selfish: he truly thinks he's doing the right thing. Even though we have perspective on what happened at the Palace of Winds, the only thing everyone else knows is how Zelda was kidnapped by an evil sorcerer who unleashed a bunch of monsters on Hyrule, and then she inexplicably comes back in love with the kidnapper. To everyone else, it makes no sense without the "she was cursed" theory :(  
Roland seems suspicious, huh? Vaati sure thinks so! As for the culprit being someone we've already met... I'll say that everyone we've met so far is integral to the story in some way ;)


	10. RSVP

fleets: ffff a bunch of personal stuff is making me feel antsy right now so I'll just drop this here and be on my way D:  
That said, I really really really REALLY do appreciate all of the support everyone has been sending my way, because I was a wreck last week and needed it

OH also! The Four Sword Links, Red, Blue, Green and Vio return in this chapter. Like in Rend, I've based them off of the manga interpretation of the characters ;)

* * *

**Chapter 10: RSVP**

Zelda sighed heavily as she took care of the last victim to the plague, now encased in a stasis crystal. It had been a week since she'd sent Link on his quest with Elise to temper the Four Sword and defeat Vaati for good, and a week had passed since she'd had no word from him. No doubt he was busy, and he would be roaming places where the couriers wouldn't be able to reach him. All she could do now was to pray he was safe, and was making progress. She looked around again at the rows and rows of stasis crystals that filled the once-empty classrooms, and the various family members who'd come to visit their affected loved ones. Most of them were parents or grandparents praying with tear stained faces over their children and spouses, since the ones who'd been affected were all mixed-blood Hylians. It was a sorry sight: Hyrule wouldn't be able to handle this for too long.

"Princess."

An elderly woman approached Zelda – she noticed it as one of the visitors who'd lost her children and grandchildren to the plague. Extra wrinkles creased her face from worry, and she leaned against her walking cane heavily. "I wanted to thank you, for coming here today," the woman said in a shaky voice, "it's nice to see that the palace still cares about us, even after all of those nasty rumors about."

Zelda nodded, not sure of what to say. Then, she couldn't help but wonder about something the old lady had mentioned. "Nasty rumors?" Zelda frowned a little, wondering if she'd just started a conversation that she probably didn't want to know about.

"Oh, it's okay," the old lady reassured, patting the princess's hand, "we all know those rumors aren't true. They used to say that awful sorcerer turned you into a terrible witch who let monsters loose in the kingdom!" The old lady didn't seem to notice Zelda look down at her feet worriedly, "Well, you're not cursed anymore, princess. I believe we'll see Hyrule free from monsters and that terrible sorcerer soon enough, and my daughter and grandchildren will wake up again…"

"Yes," Zelda said uncertainly. Yes, this wasn't exactly a conversation she'd meant to start, but that's what she got for being curious, she supposed. Every night she would stay awake until well past midnight, thinking about what had really happened the past year, wondering if she'd made the right choice. She tried not to think about how horrible her rule must have been, if there were such nasty rumors about her.

The old lady's voice brought her back out of her thoughts. "Sometimes I think I must be seeing things, missing my family too much. Just last night, someone put out more logs for the fireplace for me, just like my grandchildren used to do whenever they visited, to keep my house warm on cold days. It's hard for an old woman like me to carry those heavy things, you see," the lady said, "But I definitely must have imagined it since I live all alone now," she added sadly, waving her cane towards her relatives lying peacefully in the crystals.

Zelda watched quietly as the old lady left the premises. The old lady was completely unaware that the princess was deeply troubled by everything that was going on. That's how it always seemed, though. No one really knew that there were days when she wanted to scream and throw a fit because of the troubles in her kingdom, because it was her responsibility to look fine. Wasn't it? If she didn't keep the appearance that everything was going to be okay, then no one would be able to believe it. No one would be able to keep going, because the princess herself had given up. No matter what happened, she had to pretend that everything was okay.

"Impa," Zelda addressed her stoically calm guardian when she approached, "I've been thinking about whether or not to cancel the annual charity masquerade in light of the plague, and the fact that a potentially dangerous sorcerer is on the loose," she added, her frown deepening. "It was scheduled to be held next week, and the usual invites expect it to still happen but…" Zelda trailed off thoughtfully.

Impa surveyed the rows and rows of static crystals, each one holding a victim. "It might be wise not to hold it this year," the guardian agreed.

Zelda shook her head. "No, I was thinking the opposite." When Impa looked at her in surprise, Zelda explained, "The masquerade ball is something we've been doing every year. The people need a sense of normalcy."

Impa seemed uncertain. "But…"

"I understand that it might be dangerous," Zelda nodded, "but if we don't do this then it's a disservice to my people who still believe that we know what we're doing."

Impa returned a worried, but understanding smile. She wasn't going to be able to argue the princess out of this. It was her job to protect the princess at all costs – if Zelda wanted the masquerade to be a success, then she would do whatever it took to help her. "Yes princess."

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Link leaned against a rock, his breath coming heavily and sweat rolling down his face. Next to him, there were four others just like him. More accurately, it should be said that Green was the one who was leaning against a rock, and Red, Blue, and Vio were all resting after the fight against the monster of the desert, Lanmola. They'd managed to infiltrate the desert temple with the help of Elise, and were currently trying to find one of the elements that would allow him to upgrade the Four Sword. He never thought he'd ever pull the Four Sword again to adventure with the others… er, or should he say himself? Ugh it was too confusing.

Green sighed. He was supposed to be helping the Smith right now, learning tricks about smithing and helping the guards. He wasn't supposed to be running around Hyrule again, trying to find a way to defeat Vaati. The weight of the legendary sword was heavy in his hands. At least if they succeeded this time then they might be able to say that it was really over.

Red was cheerful as always, despite the situation. For some reason, whenever he split into his four 'selves,' it seemed like different aspects of his personality became magnified. Like, Red was the cheerful and optimistic one, almost to a fault. Blue was gutsy, hot-headed, and brash, almost to a fault. Vio was cool, analytical and the absolute best at solving puzzles, but he also came off as uncaring and cynical. And then there was Green. Green was the one who somehow managed to keep the other three together. In all honesty, he didn't know what would happen if he wasn't there, since they never seemed to be able to focus on anything without him.

"You did really well, Elise!" Green heard Red say encouragingly. The boy in red brushed the sand off of his tunic as he walked up to the White Maiden. "That was your first boss battle!"

Elise barely had a scratch on her. The white robes she'd traded out with her dress for the adventure was still clean without the hint of dirt or blood. The priestess scratched her head bashfully. "Aaaah I was so scared!" She ran up to the other three while trying not to trip over the carcass of the enormous desert worm. The priestess gave a disgusted squeal when she accidentally stepped on one of its many legs, and hurriedly ran towards the Links.

Vio snorted, but couldn't hide his grin. Elise was easily terrified, especially by monsters, and in the beginning they'd been worried she'd be more of a nuisance than actual help. What they'd quickly learned was that even though she tended to scream at the first sign of a monster, she was actually pretty terrifying herself with her light magic. She could instantly purge minor monsters with her magic burst, and had the ability to shield allies. Zelda was right: Elise could handle herself despite appearances. If Elise was this powerful, they couldn't help but wonder just how strong Zelda's light magic was.

In addition, she'd spoken true when she'd said she'd done some scouting for the location of the elements they were after, and she seemed to know most of the shortcuts around the dungeons. They would be able to collect all of them in no time, and sure enough, Elise found a glimmer in the sand close to where the Lanmola lay dead.

"All right! We're going to the mountains next!" Elise yelled excitedly. She punched her left hand in the air in a victory pose, the blue gleam of the element they'd found lighting up in her palm. Green gave a tired chuckle, and stood up. It seemed like he wasn't the only one who wanted to see this end for good, so they could go back to their lives again. Still, there was a thought that wouldn't leave him alone. Zelda's voice echoed in his head.

_If I invite you again this year, will you come?_

He glanced over towards Blue, who was looking at him knowingly. Vio and Red, too. It appeared everyone had the same thoughts. They'd left Zelda with a promise that he'd go to the charity masquerade like past years, when she'd been worried he wouldn't show up. He didn't expect Elise to understand why he wanted to go, but he had to say it.

"Hey Elise," Blue spoke up, being the boldest out of the four. "Do you think we could stop at Hyrule again?" Next to him, Red was grinning in a troubled way, and both Vio and Green flinched at the question.

Elise's hands dropped down slowly, and then she looked at them in confusion. "What for?"

"Er, well it's just we promised the princess that-" Blue looked at the others for help. His boldness had run out.

With almost frightening abruptness, Elise's tone turned sharp and demanding. "If this is about that charity masquerade," she began coldly.

"It is," Red supplied apologetically. He winced when Elise snapped back.

"Absolutely not!" The White Maiden stomped towards them angrily. She grabbed Green by the collar, surprising everyone with her forcefulness, which was nothing at all like the delicate maiden image she'd had only moments before. "What do you think Zelda would say if you show up to the ball? We are the only ones who can defeat Vaati, and the entire fate of Hyrule rests in our hands! She'll think of you as a lazy idiot if you went back just to _dance_. Ugh!" She released her hold on the startled Green, and then began to walk towards the dungeon exit purposefully. "Do you really think you can win her heart like that? This is exactly why she ended up favoring Vaati!"

_Why do you care?_ Green thought, annoyed, as he rubbed his neck where Elise had yanked him. His earlier good mood for defeating the Lanmola had vanished. Sure, she had a point and everything, but did she have to be so rude about it? The fact that she made it seem like all he cared about was to get Zelda to like him was just… Well sure he'd always liked her but –

"What are thinking about, Vio?"

Green caught Red whispering towards the Link in purple. The boy in question had a funny look on his face as he watched Elise's retreating back. Vio's eyes narrowed, but then he shook his head and dismissed Red. "It's nothing."

Green shot a questioning look towards Vio. Red shrugged and let it slide, but Green knew better. That look wasn't a look that said it was "nothing."

And indeed, it wasn't nothing. It was more like an instinct, that Vio knew that this exchange with Elise wasn't all that it seemed. Vio wasn't even sure if he knew what he meant by that. All he could say was that… it was a feeling. Was it something she'd said? Her overreaction? There was more to Elise than her hatred of monsters, but exactly what that was, he didn't know. And when he didn't know, he couldn't say anything. He wasn't the type of person to spread rumors, after all.

Still, he waited until Red and Blue had walked on ahead to follow the White Maiden. He walked towards Green and put a hand on his shoulder, stopping him. "Let's keep an eye on her," he said in a low voice.

"What?" Green pulled away from Vio in surprise. "Why?"

Vio shook his head. "You noticed," he said after a while. "that I didn't mean 'nothing' when I said 'nothing.'" And without much more explanation, he left Green standing behind, his mouth open in surprise.

XXXXXXXXXX

Maribel nervously watched Vaati pacing the great hall of the Palace of Winds. She and several sentries had been summoned, and for the past ten minutes or so Vaati hadn't explained why he'd summoned her specifically. She had a bad feeling about it, since it was almost never a good sign whenever Vaati was pacing like that.

Suddenly, he stopped, and he said nothing for several excruciating seconds. Out of nervousness, Maribel wanted to ask if anything was wrong, but she also knew that there was a high probability of making him mad if she said anything out of turn. Mercifully, the sorcerer finally muttered something under his breath.

"No good," he said. "I can't see her without having her alert the guards or that Sheikah. It's no good."

"Why not, my Lord?" she asked boldly, finally understanding what this was about. "Surely you can just warp to her room and- "Maribel shut up immediately when she saw Vaati glaring at her in the most frightening way.

"Then she won't _listen," _Vaati growled, "do you know how difficult it is to force someone to drink something? I don't intend to visit that wizzrobe again, so I have no room for error." He tossed the small bottle with the cure in the air, before catching it in his hands again.

The ghost sighed along with her master dejectedly, feeling like a failure. The other sentry eyes appeared to share her sentiment, and they were all hovering close to the floor dejectedly.

"So you really couldn't find any other opportunity to reach the princess?" Vaati repeated. They'd already informed him repeatedly what they'd found, but it seemed the sorcerer wasn't ready to believe them. He swatted away one of the sentry eyes that had tried to send it a telepathic image of its response, and then Maribel fidgeted somewhat when he stared at her expectantly.

"The princess is heavily guarded," the poe explained. "There is someone keeping watch of her movements at all times, usually her guardian, and it's been difficult enough just to keep tabs on her movements without getting caught."

"And you're saying there's no opportunity to slip the cure into her drink without her knowing?" Vaati insisted. He gritted his teeth when Maribel shook her head.

"No. Anything on her plate is checked by the guardian first. The only opportunity is for Lord Vaati to perhaps disguise as one of the princess's maids and-"

"Forget it," Vaati cut Maribel off severely.

"But it could work," the poe muttered under her breath, low enough so that he couldn't hear. The ghost watched the sorcerer begin to pace again, his strides hitting the floor with impatience. Maribel wracked her head for any useful information that Lord Vaati might be able to use, but she couldn't think of anything. The castle was heavily guarded, and she and the other sentry eyes and other poes and ghinis had made countless rounds around Hyrule, memorizing the guards' schedules and the princess's pattern of movement. If they couldn't think of something soon then-

"Aaa_aaugggh! Why are you all so useless?_!" Black tendrils whipped around the sorcerer angrily, and Maribel and the sentries scurried away from the furious demon eye that emerged from the shadows.

_Yeah… that,_ Maribel thought, peeking around from behind one of the pillars. It wasn't a good day for anyone whenever Vaati decided to rage in his demon eye form. It usually meant he was going to break something, including monsters around him.

There was a loud bang when Vaati smashed his claw onto the floor. There was also one sentry eye missing from the vicinity, and Maribel could guess what had happened.

Vaati's eye glared daggers at his claw where the sentry had been smashed against the floor. "_You're suggesting I go to a BALL in this situation? What kind of a fool do you take me for?"_

Maribel rolled her eyes. What a stupid sentry. However, she remembered something at the mention of a ball. "Oh! Lord Vaati, there's a masquerade ball-" the poe froze when the eye swiveled towards her menacingly.

"_Am I surrounded by idiots?"_ Vaati growled. He glared at the poe whose lantern was clattering because of her shaking hands. The demon eye appeared to consider whether or not to smash the poe, too, but something occurred to him and his eye widened a little. "_You said a masquerade… ball?"_ he asked tentatively.

Relieved that Vaati seemed willing to listen rather than smash her through the floor, Maribel nodded slowly and continued where she left off. "The princess is planning to hold the annual masquerade charity ball in a week."

The poe played with her fingers nervously as Vaati continued to stare at her for a while. It was difficult to read his expression, and Maribel tried not to wonder if he might change his mind about not attacking her. Finally, they were all given an opportunity to ease themselves when the demon eye turned around and floated a few feet away. The wind mage clicked his claws together thoughtfully as he looked out towards the sky.

"_This might work,"_ he said to himself, musing, "_This might just work."_

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

A week later, the night was cloudless and clear, the stars glittering above like fairy dust. There was a slight nip in the air from the fall chill, but it wasn't unpleasant and it was actually perfect for the masquerade ball where everyone wore concealing clothes. Despite the situation with the plague, there was a lively atmosphere around the castle for once and various nobles from across Hyrule were already gathering around the gates to be let through. The money raised from the attendees would go towards the relief effort for those affected by the plague, and it brought a sense of camaraderie to the nobles who weren't always friendly with each other. For now, it seemed as though holding the charity masquerade had been a sound idea.

Most of the crowd had arrived, and the ones coming now were the late stragglers. One of them, a nobleman in a gold suit with a full-face white mask covering his face, walked slightly out of breath just before the gates. He waited for a few minutes until his breathing was back to normal; it wouldn't do for him to appear at the ball like he'd rushed to get there.

"Excuse me," someone tapped his shoulder. Startled, the man whirled around and came face to face with another man who appeared to be on his way to the charity masquerade. The stranger was a bit shorter than him, and was wearing a silver mask with sequined eye-symbols that completely hid his face. He was dressed in a flamboyant purple and gold, fitting the occasion, and the man couldn't even tell what color hair the stranger had because of a trailing purple cap that covered his head. Some people came to the masquerade to mingle without being recognized.

"Good evening, sir," the man replied, trying to be friendly. "Did you just arrive here?"

The stranger ignored the question rudely, and asked abruptly, "Did you come alone?"

"Ah, unfortunately yes beca-"

The man didn't get to finish his sentence, because as soon as he confirmed that he'd come alone, the stranger dashed forward with frightening speed and aimed a clawed hand towards the other man's head. His huge, shadowy claws connected with a thud, and the poor man was knocked out cold. Before the guards or anyone else noticed that a man had just been attacked, the body was dragged behind some bushes, out of sight.

Vaati rummaged around the unconscious man's coat pocket, and then pulled out an invitation to the masquerade ball. "Lord Nesbitt, hmm?" Vaati read aloud. Then, he folded the invitation and placed it inside his own jacket pocket. He snapped his fingers, and Maribel materialized in the air, along with a ghini that had been invisible earlier. They both held ropes, and the proceeded to bind the victim's wrists and ankles so that he wouldn't be able to run anywhere, as well as a gag so that he wouldn't create noise. A sneer behind his mask, Vaati strode over to the gates where people were gathering to present their invitation. He was the new Lord Nesbitt for tonight.

A small glass bottle with clear liquid rolled around in one of his pockets. Perhaps he'd be able to invite the princess for a drink tonight.

* * *

fleets: Set-up chapter, so not that exciting, but had to be done. Everything mentioned in this chapter is relevant in the future, you'll see. And ahhh I know, I know. The whole 'mysterious man meets Juliet at a ball' is probably overdone and cliche, but it's the first thing that comes to my mind in a romance genre :P

Someone also suggested this belongs in the Mystery genre rather than Adventure. I admit I wasn't very confident that I could bring together everything needed for a true Mystery genre label, but now that the story is progressing it doesn't really have the elements of Adventure... I'll change it to Mystery (or any other genre or lack of genre) depending on one or two more opinions about it :D

Also I am endlessly amused by everyone's guessing on what's really going on in this story, and because I can't really reply back honestly without ruining the ending I'm going to be giving meaningless comments where I wonder along with you :P Please forgive XD (I really do enjoy your guesses so far though haha)

**Flufux: **Roland involved, but not the main, eh? Interesting ;)

**MasterShortPantsx3: **Vaati seems to have an idea about giving the cure - maybe we can see Zelda get her memories back soon...?

**GamerxOtaku: **Haha awww thank you! That's a lot of chapters you read :O Aaaaah thank you so much, I'm glad you liked them, and Thistle too! omg

**Ki: **Roland or Impa, hmm? It's pretty narrowed down now! Who will it be? And yup! I intended to include a mention of the Links and Elise here, and we can start seeing what Elise is like. And ffff I definitely know what you mean about the stress :( No problem! And ahhhh I REALLY didn't want Bates to die since he grew on me so I had to give him and Dark a happy ending! Thank you thank you thank you I really enjoy reading your responses they make my day a hundred million times better :D

**Mage Vaati: **Oh don't we all miss Bates... Hmmm is Link involved or isn't he... ;)  
hahaha I would be way too scared to take that chance (my teachers were always scary)

**Lord Siravant: **It does seem odd he would do that, doesn't it, since he seemed pretty mellow? Wonder what's going on there ;)

**Dia Newman: **A conspiracy oh my :O And errr hope your kitty was alright

**Cutiecat: **It seems like he's going to try to disguise his way to Zelda, but I wonder how well that's going to work out...

**LovelyKiridia: **Haha yeah so I told myself, even though I do like Vaati as a villain, I just can't write a true romance if he's a horrible human being because it goes against my core beliefs too much. Eh, I guess I kind of wrote him a hero in Rend, too, even though there was no romance there. Maybe I just can't write protags as truly horrible people (I know some stories that can pull that off, but I don't think I have the guts to do it).  
Hmmm, Roland being framed too? That leaves a lot more possibilities open hMMMM

**eureka93: **I've seen a few fan interpretations around here and deviantart and tumblr about how old habits die hard, and I really liked it. :)  
It seems like they might meet soon! At least he has some kind of plan now. (bows low) your highness I bring you the latest chapter at your command. :P

**Peregrine: **A bird of prey username, hmm? I'm a fan!  
Erm, hope that didn't scare you off hehe. Hatchet time, storm the castle! And thanks for the review :D I'll definitely consider Mystery! I've been wondering about it myself, and I'll definitely change it if I have another suggestion to do so :)


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